Business Group on Health, a nonprofit organization representing large employers' perspectives on health and wellness solutions, awarded The Walt Disney Company the Helen Darling Award for Excellence in Health Care Value and Innovation, recognizing the employer's shift toward value-based care for its 77,000-plus employees in Orlando, Florida. Disney started this transition back in 2018 when it began working with Orlando Health and Florida Hospital to build a high-performing network of providers who are paid based on the health outcomes of their patients.
"As the largest single-site employer in Central Florida, the intent of this initiative was to improve the quality of care and align financial incentives directly with the [care] delivery systems," says Eric Chaisson, senior vice president of total rewards at The Walt Disney Company. "In doing so, Disney disrupted the traditional fee-for-service payment model typically utilized in employer-based plans."
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A fee-for-service model pays providers based on the volume of services, rather than the quality of those services. But in a high-performance network, providers are often chosen because of factors like lower rates of surgery complications, infection and hospital readmittance.
"This is a subset of doctors and clinicians whose outcomes result in a lower overall cost of care because people are healthier," says Ellen Kelsay, president and CEO of Business Group on Health. "In a fee-for-service model, payment is based on volume, whether that volume was necessary or not."
According to professional services firm Aon, U.S. employers are expected to see a 6.5% increase in what they pay for their employees' healthcare. But more definitely does not mean better — Kelsay underlines that employers will have to disrupt the U.S. healthcare system sooner than later, noting that the status quo only points to higher costs and less accessibility.
"The healthcare affordability crisis is certainly nothing new in this country, but it's not sustainable," she says. "Health outcomes aren't improving for the general population. Value-based models attempt to address affordability and encourage physicians to deliver the care that is needed."
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In fact, while the U.S. spends more on healthcare than any other high-income country, it has the lowest life expectancy and the highest rate of people with multiple chronic conditions, according to independent research group The Commonwealth Fund. On top of that, U.S. life expectancy has now dropped for two years in a row.
Still, Kelsay admits building a value-based care model is no easy feat — it means negotiating with health systems, hospitals and individual providers who may be reluctant to switch to a relatively new payment model. It's a matter of bandwidth and time, notes Kelsay.
Chaisson is confident the investment was worth it, as Disney's partnership with the hospital systems, along with its onsite clinics, has pushed more employees to seek care rather than wait for their health conditions to seriously deteriorate.
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"We are always seeking out the most innovative approaches to supporting our employees and their diverse needs," he says. "The consistent level of participation in these plans, along with the reductions in cost and increase in quality outcomes has proved successful and a benefit for our employees."
For Chaisson, the move to value-based care also went beyond
"One of our primary goals at Disney is to create a workplace where our employees can thrive, both personally and professionally, and we know a huge part of that model is investing in our employees' well-being," says Chaisson. "It was with this philosophy in mind that we have shifted our approach."
