Benefits November 10, 2008

Employer Coalition Focuses on High-Value Health Benefits

November 10, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Mid-America Coalition on Health Care (MACHC) has announced a two-year national pilot project to establish the rationale and best practices for employers to adopt high-value health benefits.
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According to a press release, the Kansas City Collaborative (KC2) will use Value Based Benefits concepts to develop data-driven tools and resources to help employers improve the health of employees and their families, promote employee wellness, and manage longer-term health care costs.

Consisting of 17 Kansas City employers and other key stakeholders, KC2 will collect insights from participating employers on Value Based Benefits concepts and share learnings with other employers nationwide, according to the announcement. The project, developed by MACHC, in collaboration with Pfizer Inc, which is providing technical and financial assistance, aims to educate employers on the value of aligning incentives and removing health care barriers for their employees. The learnings will be disseminated across the country by the National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH).

“We know Value Based Benefits strategies work because we have seen the results,” said Collier Case, Sprint’s director of health and productivity, and chairman of MACHC. “But too many employers do not fully understand the value of evidence-based health care. We want to work with employers, through KC2, to apply Value Based Benefits concepts across a wide range of workforces and corporate cultures to highlight the impact on employee wellness and health care costs.”

Value Based Benefits

The concept of Value Based Benefits is to utilize evidence-based health strategies and health improvement programs to allow employers to better manage their health care costs by delivering high-quality care to improve employee health outcomes.

Prior to its launch, KC2 developed program content for participating employers based on detailed employer surveys and personal interviews with key executives. The content offers a series of educational sessions designed to support employers in executing future Value Based Benefits initiatives during the second year of the project. KC2, in collaboration with MACHC and NBCH, also will create an Employer Guide that captures both the informational content created through the project plus the experience of the coalition members in applying these strategies within their organizations.

Beginning in 2009, NBCH will use its education channels to spread the strategies developed by MACHC to its member coalitions, representing 60 communities across the country. "NBCH will serve as the national forum for publicizing the findings of the KC2 project, and provide actionable, step-by-step assistance," noted Andrew Webber, president and CEO of NBCH. "This amplification should be a major factor in spreading Value Based Benefits' penetration into the regional and local employer markets."

Participating KC2 Employers

  • - American Academy of Family Physicians
  • - American Century Investments
  • - Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas City
  • - BlueScope Steel NA
  • - Cerner Corporation
  • - Children's Mercy Hospitals & Clinics
  • - City of Kansas City, Missouri
  • - H&R Block Inc.
  • - Hallmark Cards Inc.
  • - JE Dunn Construction Group
  • - Kansas State Employee Health Benefit Plan
  • - Lockton Companies
  • - Missouri Consolidated Health Care Plan
  • - MO-KAN Sheet Metal Workers' Welfare Fund
  • - Saint Luke's Health System
  • - Sprint
  • - The University of Kansas Hospital Authority

NBCH is a national, non-profit, membership organization of 60 business and health coalitions, representing over 7,000 employers and 34 million employees and their dependents across the United States. NBCH and its members are dedicated to value based purchasing of health care services through the collective action of public and private purchasers. www.nbch.org

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