5 crucial areas for employer health care cost management
July 28, 2014 9:30 AM
1. Viability of private exchanges
The 19th Annual Towers Watson/National Business Group on Health Employer Survey on Purchasing Value in Health Care finds that the best performers - those companies that have reported just a 1.6% growth in costs over the period of 2010 to 2013 - are asking more questions about private exchanges.
Dave Osterndorf, managing director of product innovation for exchange solutions at Towers Watson, says that these companies are asking whether private exchanges can add value to their current health program.
"They are already doing well, so they are saying, 'tell me about the private exchange. Does it actually add value to what I have?' Rather than, 'does it eliminate value that I used to have?'" Osterndorf explains. [Image: Fotolia.com]
Dave Osterndorf, managing director of product innovation for exchange solutions at Towers Watson, says that these companies are asking whether private exchanges can add value to their current health program.
"They are already doing well, so they are saying, 'tell me about the private exchange. Does it actually add value to what I have?' Rather than, 'does it eliminate value that I used to have?'" Osterndorf explains. [Image: Fotolia.com]
2. Workplace culture
"You have to do things that make people [operate] differently," Osterndorf tells EBN. "And so you start with workplace culture, thats what it's really about for best performers. They are saying, 'we can use our work environment, our company culture, the statements that our senior management makes, and all the things that live within our workplace to reinforce the fact that the health of our population matters and makes our business better.'" [Image: Fotolia.com]
3. Healthy lifestyle activities
Reinforcing workplace culture, healthy lifestyle activities can lead to better decision-making, and, in turn, a healthier workforce that needs less care down the line. This can be a happy result for all organizations, which is probably why all companies and low-cost performers listed healthy lifestyle activities in their top five focus areas. [Image: Fotolia.com]
4. Financial incentives
"I simply need [employees] to have a lower need for health care," Osterndorf explains. "They need less health care by staying healthy, and financial incentives can absolutely reinforce that." [Image: Fotolia.com]
5. New technologies
"New technologies help employees see the prices better transparency tools, [plus] new ways of getting information about who the best quality providers are – that kind of information matters in making good choice about spending less money on health care," Osterndorf notes. [Image: Fotolia.com]
