Bundled Payments for “Baby Bundles”

Another major insurance carrier has cooperated with selected healthcare providers in two states to introduce a bundled payment program for maternity care. Like bundled payment programs used by Medicare and commercial carriers for total joint replacement, the bundled maternity program reimburses the care provider for an entire episode of care, including prenatal, delivery and postpartum services, with one overall fee. Insurers are encouraged with the positive outcomes, citing early access to care and open lines of communication as significant advantages of this approach.

Can Chronic Disease Management Really Work?

With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projecting that 83 million people will soon have three or more chronic diseases, the number of employers working to manage chronic conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and coronary artery disease is staggering.

Not only do the average medical costs for a diabetic exceed $16,000 per year, but the loss of productivity is estimated to add an additional $1,700. How can your health plan cope?

Begin with Good Information
Reviewing claims data, diagnostic tests and prescription drug data is a critical starting point. Once plan members with chronic illnesses are identified, care managers, nurse navigators or health coaches can talk with them to learn about their lifestyle, ask about medications, nutrition, their family situation and other factors that may be impacting their condition.

Chronic disease management is not a one-step process. It involves partnering with a member’s physician and other professionals to understand the patient’s needs and develop a personalized care plan. This level of personal involvement will not only help the member receive the care they need but also help them better understand how to use their health plan to their benefit.

Experience shows that 80% of a company’s healthcare spend is often attributed to 20% of plan members. Chronic illness is likely the reason, making disease management a critical part of high-quality healthcare plans.

Protecting Member’s Health Data

The sensitive nature of information shared with payers and providers makes health plan members prime targets for identify theft. While no legislation is currently moving through Congress, a number of senators are taking steps to learn more about recent breaches of healthcare data involving collection agencies and diagnostics firms.

While some employers are taking very costly measures to protect their business and their employees, there are a few steps employers can implement at little or no cost:

• Encourage everyone to use strong passwords and change them often.
• Consider adding an Identify Theft protection service to your benefits package. Lifelock and Identity Guard are two common options.
• Offer educational sessions or webinars to build awareness to the cyber threats that exist today.

On-going education is critically important because the constant use of technology has made too many of us numb to the serious nature of cyber threats. As prevention measures have evolved over time, so have the ways hackers and cyber criminals go about attacking organizations and individuals.

Diversified Group Named One of CT’s Healthiest Employers by Making Wellness Part of Company Culture

This article was published on September 16, 2019 on Hartford Business written by Wendy Pierman Mitzel. Photo source is Hartford Business Journal.

1st Place | Category: 1,000 or fewer employees

Diversified Group

Headquarters: Marlborough

Industry: Health insurance and benefits administration

Top Executive: Brooks T. Goodison, President

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Diversified Group not only offers its customers a worksite wellness plan, it offers programs to its own employees as well.

Company leaders say creating a healthy workplace translates to happier employees, high retention rates and increased customer service.

According to Alison Searles, Diversified Group’s client service specialist, continuity and accessibility are key to defining the culture of wellness within the health insurance firm. Workers can take exercise classes during lunch breaks and organize their schedules in a way that allows them to attend monthly programs like meditation, wellness coaching and fitness challenges.

“Employees want to be healthy and just a little push from Diversified Group has helped some individuals make huge strides when it comes to health,” she explained. “When employees come back from their spin class, yoga or meditation session, they feel a little more clear-headed, a little more energized and ready to tackle the rest of their day as opposed to hitting that 2 p.m. crash.”

Employees can choose from activities led by educated and trained professionals and held on a regular basis. They include weekly fitness classes such as yoga, spinning and strength; monthly meditation sessions; monthly wellness-focused activities; quarterly wellness challenges; and on-demand health coaching or dietetic counseling.

Diversified Group provides programs regularly so employees make wellness part of their everyday routine, said Searles.

“The goal of our program is to instill the concept that wellness is a lifelong priority,” she added.

Targeting the needs and wants of some 55 employees is another important part of offering the right programs to gain participation. Recently, Diversified Group began instruction in yoga nidra, also referred to as sleep yoga, on the suggestion of the holistic health specialist.

Diversified Group also has a robust incentive campaign that offers small rewards for meeting certain benchmarks and larger ones for commitments spanning the entire year.

“Rewards initially motivate employees to participate in our wellness challenges and activities, but many have recognized that they truly feel better when they participate and this encourages them to keep going,” Searles said. “We have quite a few people who now lead healthy lifestyles simply because they learned how great being healthy feels.”

The program is communicated to employees through a new wellness portal. In addition, a yearly aggregate evaluation, along with satisfaction surveys and one-on-one meetings, allow for adjustments and improvements.

Click here to view the full list of HBJ’s 2019 Healthiest Employers awards.

Support for Caregivers

According to a new Harvard University study, 73% of employees surveyed are caring for a child, parent or friend. More importantly, 80% of those admit that caregiving has had a negative impact on their productivity at work and kept them from doing their best work. Employers are beginning to take a more proactive role in helping employees balance these priorities by shaping their benefit programs to accommodate their needs. We’ll take a closer look at some of the steps being taken in our next newsletter.

Walmart Woos High-Schoolers

A recent announcement stated that by year end, Walmart will triple the number of employees taking advantage of company-provided tuition benefits. With 25,000 high school students among their 1.3 million U.S. employees, the company expects to help many avoid the hefty cost of higher education. Disney, Discover and MGM Resorts International are just a few large employers offering free tuition for college or certificate programs in order to attract talented young people.

Mental Health Days

As more workers struggle with stress in and out of the workplace, some are requesting time off in order to cope. This is not a problem for companies with sick-day policies that allow employees to use their paid personal days for any reason. In other workplaces, people who are honest about asking for a mental health day can sometimes be looked upon as suffering from a mental health issue. Regardless of how your organization may handle these issues, it is important to respect employees’ right to privacy and avoid probing for sensitive information about a person’s well-being.

 

Student Loan Solutions

With student loan debt topping the list of concerns for so many young workers, more and more employers are looking for ways to help. While several large employers are doing things to help them reduce principal and save on interest, one large employer is allowing employees to trade up to 5 vacation days for a payment on their debt. In their program, a person earning $50,000 annually could receive a principal payment of nearly $1,000. The Society of Human Resource Management reports that 4% of employers are offering a student loan repayment benefit of some kind.

Group Exercise is Big

The College of Sports Medicine, in ranking fitness trends for 2019, concluded that millennials enjoy being part of a community that will cheer them on when they do a good job and perhaps push them a bit harder when they don’t. Other popular fitness trends include wearable technology, high intensity interval training (HIIT), yoga and more personalized exercise programs designed specifically for members of the baby boomer generation.

How Will You Celebrate National Employee Health & Fitness Day?

Wednesday, May 15^th is National Employee Health & Fitness Day and it’s a great opportunity to remind your employees about the importance and benefits of regular exercise!

Exercise has been linked to numerous benefits, such as reducing your risk for chronic health issues like heart disease, diabetes, depression and several types of cancer.

And yet millions of Americans fall short of meeting their daily recommended guidelines; despite the fact that it can be a significant factor with impacting medical expenses. In fact, a 2016 study published by “The Lancet” determined that individuals who participated in a 30-minute walk at least 5 days a week on average spent $2,500 less in annual medical-related expenses than those who didn’t.

So, what can be done? Use this opportunity to kick-start some new wellness initiatives. Start by expressing that this is being implemented because you care about your employees and make it an opportunity to celebrate good health. Instead of providing a pizza party, maybe mix it up with food from a place that offers sandwiches on whole wheat bread or wraps with lean protein options (such as chicken, turkey or even vegetarian options), salads and even fruit in place of cookies. Or you could organize a company-wide walk. As we mentioned before, a 30-minute walk can go a long way and by making time for it, you’re showing employees that it is a priority. Even starting small, with leading a 2-minute midday stretching break can be a small change that eventually leads to a big impact.

The bottom line? Consistent exercise and other healthy habits can save companies millions of dollars in healthcare expenditures. Yet it seems to be one of the hardest habits to make. And since people often spend 40+ hours of their week at work, it’s a great place to also encourage more regular participation. In can be a win-win benefit for both the individual and the company.

Share your plans to celebrate! Send Corporate Fitness & Health your National Employee Health & Fitness Day plans and they will send you a shout out on their social media pages! Email your stories and pictures to kcalverase@cfandh.com.

The Diversified Group family of companies includes Corporate Fitness & Health. If you’re looking for a workplace wellness program that you’ll be excited to invest in, one that can help you reduce healthcare costs and help employees avoid elevated health risks, then it’s time you learned about CF&H. With over 30 years of experience, CF&H can help your organization implement a wellness program that will keep your employees happy, healthy and engaged.