3 Components of Claims Data Analysis You Should Know to Help Control Healthcare Costs (February 2010)

Originally Published in RMP Advisor, February 2010

At RMP, we believe in a data-driven approach to managing your health benefits and costs. That’s why analyzing your healthcare utilization data is one of the key steps in our white paper, 10 Steps to Fixing Your Company’s Healthcare. Our premise is that approximately 30% of the dollars spent on healthcare are wasted on unnecessary, inappropriate, and poor-quality care. Using your organization’s claims data to understand the source of the waste is an essential first step to designing a long-term healthcare strategy that is cost effective and provides optimal care for your employees and their dependents.

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Health Benefits Case Study: Identifying Waste, Saving Money (February 2010)

Originally Published in RMP Advisor, February 2010

In the summer of 2009, PATH®, a subsidiary of Risk Management Partners, LLC, was engaged to conduct a health benefits cost-reduction study for a large, self-insured employer. The key steps were to use available data to analyze healthcare spending, assess options for reducing costs and enhancing value, and prepare a set of recommendations. The employer, with 1,600 employees throughout the country, was experiencing an unexplained spike in its health benefit costs in 2009, which were projected (in late 2008) to be $16.1 million. Midway through 2009, annual costs were trending towards an expected level of spending close to $20 million, and the client wanted to know why and what they could do about it.

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Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs) Introduce Employees to Healthcare Consumerism (January 2010)

Originally Published in RMP Advisor, January 2010

Readers of this newsletter know that RMP supports consumer-driven healthcare. Consumerism is one of the most effective tools for adding value and increasing the efficiency of our healthcare delivery system. Consumerism is about giving employees greater responsibility or “skin in the game.” Data show that when employers do this, their employees will make better decisions.

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Musings on Health Reform—Where Do We Go from Here (January 2010)

Originally Published in RMP Advisor, January 2010

As we go to press, House and Senate conferees are working (behind closed doors) to create a final health reform bill. Regardless of the result, I believe we will be dealing with this issue for years to come. If a bill passes, there are massive regulations still to be written, and the next Congress will undoubtedly seek to recast the legislation. On the other hand, if a merged bill fails to pass both houses of Congress, the country still needs to pass a reduced version of health reform in which the parties can agree.

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Employee Weight Loss Can Shed Dollars from Your Health Plan Spending (December 2009)

Originally Published in RMP Advisor, December 2009

Over the past few decades the number of Americans who are obese or overweight has skyrocketed. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, and close to one-third are obese. Individuals carrying extra weight increase their risk for a number of health conditions and diseases, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol and triglycerides, osteoarthritis, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, sleep apnea, respiratory problems, and some types of cancers.

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Planning For The Future: What Do We Do If…? (December 2009)

Originally Published in RMP Advisor, December 2009

None of us can predict the future with certainty, but we can and should try, given our responsibility to plan our company’s future. In that regard, we offer our readers some suggestions based on alternative health reform scenarios and the employer’s role as purchaser of health benefits.

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Provider Networks – What You Need to Know at Renewal (November 2009)

Originally Published in RMP Advisor, November 2009

It’s not just about cost. For many business owners, the Thanksgiving season is more than just a time to watch football and enjoy a turkey dinner with family and friends. It’s also a time when many of you are making final decisions on the health insurance plans you will be offering to your employees. Countless buying decisions are mistakenly made solely on the basis of cost and benefit design. Ignoring the insurance company’s hospital and physician network can adversely affect the quality of care and the cost for that care for your employees. Not all provider networks are the same.

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Policy Update: An Analysis of Health Reform Legislation (H.R. 3962) (November 2009)

Originally Published in RMP Advisor, November 2009

The House of Representatives Has Spoken; Can We Do Better in the Senate?

If we are to effectively reform healthcare in the United States and keep the system private, there is one critical concept that needs to be accepted and respected—that is, we must properly apply the general principles of insurance to healthcare. Insurance is meant to provide individuals with financial protection against large, unexpected losses. When used in that way, insurance works, such as in the markets for automobile and fire insurance. When insurance is used to pay for smaller, routine, day-to-day expenses, insurance doesn’t work—it is an inefficient and wasteful financing mechanism. If we want to fix healthcare in this country, preserve choice, and keep the system private, there is a way and it doesn’t have to bust the federal budget.

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7 Steps to an Effective Health Insurance Renewal (October 2009)

Originally Published in RMP Advisor, October 2009

At this time of year, many businesses face the annual renewal of their health benefits. Is your company prepared? We hear from many business owners and executives that this annual process is generally ineffective and unsatisfactory. Why do they feel this way?

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Health Benefits Case Study: Zieger & Sons – Bending the Cost Curve (October 2009)

Originally Published in RMP Advisor, October 2009

Four generations of Ziegers have owned and managed a wholesale florist business started in 1910 by Ernst Zieger, when he purchased a greenhouse business in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. Next year marks Zieger & Sons’ 100th anniversary of providing the retail florist community with the highest quality products and dependable services. Like most small businesses, the company has struggled in recent years with the cost of healthcare.

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Comparative Performance Data: HSAs vs. Traditional Plans (September 2009)

Originally Published in RMP Advisor, September 2009

A wise man says, “In God we trust; everyone else bring data.” The Health Savings Account (HSA) model for health benefits has been available to employers and their employees since January 2004. Health Savings Accounts, when combined with the purchase of a high-deductible health plan (HDHP), offer consumers an alternative to the traditional insurance options such as preferred provider organizations (PPOs) and health maintenance organizations (HMOs). With over 5 years of experience and millions of Americans using HSAs, what does the data tell us?

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Case Study: Bending the Cost Curve – How Safeway Does It (September 2009)

Originally Published in RMP Advisor, September 2009

Supermarket chain Safeway is held up by President Obama and others as the model for controlling healthcare costs by focusing attention on wellness programs and preventive care. How does Safeway do it? Safeway takes a comprehensive approach, involving corporate commitment, changes in plan design, and financial incentives that reward healthy behavior. Let’s take a look at each of these critical success factors to Safeway’s approach.

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HSAs Can Make You “Carrier Agnostic” (August 2009)

Originally Published in RMP Advisor, August 2009

In this August newsletter, we introduce our readers to the term “Carrier Agnostic.” I first heard this term from a representative of the HSA Bank in Wisconsin – the bank where I opened my Health Savings Account 4 years ago – which was one of the first banks to offer HSAs to the public. The goals of a Carrier Agnostic organization are to establish independence from any one insurance carrier, promote competition to keep health insurance rates as low as possible, and gain control over future healthcare costs. In effect, we show you how HSAs put the negotiating power in your hands.

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Examining Uncle Sam’s Role in Health Care (July 2009)

Originally Published in RMP Advisor, July 2009

Sure, the American healthcare system needs to be fixed, but there’s a risk that curing the system will harm the patient. Will reform bankrupt our country or saddle future generations with enormous debt? Will we curtail or end access to services and healthcare providers of our choosing?

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Policy Update: Healthcare Policy Reform Is Hot! (July 2009)

Originally Published in RMP Advisor, July 2009

Washington lawmakers are hard at work on a variety of healthcare reform options. And, we’ve seen our share of commentary both for and against the reforms. That’s why we’ve compiled a group of links covering different sides of the issue — from the impact of reform on small businesses and the uninsured, to how to understand and gauge the potential reform program costs.

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