| VOLUME 2 | ISSUE 2 | FEBRUARY 2010 | http://www.rmpllc.biz |
New subscribers to this newsletter, RMP Advisor, receive a white paper called 10 Steps to Fixing Your Company's Healthcare. This month's feature focuses on one of those steps, the importance of analyzing your historical healthcare data whenever you look to update your healthcare plan.Knowing your data will help you uncover the real savings opportunities, so we highlight what you should be looking at and why. If you've forgotten the other nine steps, you're welcome to download another copy of this white paper. Please invite your colleagues and friends to sign up for our newsletter and receive their copy, too.
I also must mention health reform and the election of Republican Scott Brown to assume the Senate seat previously held by Ted Kennedy. This dramatically changes the health reform landscape, so stay tuned to our blog and future newsletters for what is happening in Washington and, more importantly, what should be happening. Circle February 25, 2010, on your calendar, the date of a proposed "bipartisan" Health Care Summit President Obama is convening.
| David Edman Managing Partner Risk Management Partners, LLC |
3 Components of Claims Data Analysis You Should Know to Help Control Healthcare Costs
At RMP, we believe in a data-driven approach to managing your health benefits and costs. An organization's ability to confront the problem of wasted healthcare spending first requires an understanding of the source of the problem, and data is the key.Using medical and pharmacy claims data obtained by an employer, we are able to analyze how healthcare dollars are being spent, identify unnecessary or inappropriate spending (i.e., poor quality care, overuse or misuse of the system), and implement tools that will recapture dollars where savings opportunities exist. The Case Study that follows is an example of how we conducted such an analysis for one of our large clients and the opportunities we uncovered. Read more.
Case Study: Identifying Waste, Saving Money
RMP and its subsidiary Purchasers Alliance for Transforming Health (PATH®) analyzed data for a large, self-insured employer to identify waste and potential cost-saving opportunities. The results are startling.Take note: In this case study, we highlight 21 different areas for potential savings that can be explored for any large purchaser of healthcare, from benefits redesign to pharmacy rebates to provider contracting (e.g., pay-for-performance, use of high-performance networks) to stop-loss insurance. In this case, these opportunities generated expected savings of between 18% and 25% of current healthcare spending levels. Read more.
More on Health Reform—Where Do We Go from Here?
On January 19, 2010, the people of Massachusetts went to the polls and elected Scott Brown to replace Ted Kennedy as their United States Senator, signaling a momentous shift in the health reform debate. Partisan bills passed by large Democratic majorities in both Houses of Congress still need to be reconciled.However, Democratic infighting over certain provisions (e.g., public option, paying for the bill, abortion coverage) and the loss of a 60-seat super majority in the Senate has effectively ended the chances of passing "Obamacare."
Yet, the country still needs to fix its broken health insurance system. The recent elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts send a strong signal to Washington that people are sick and tired of partisan wrangling because it leads only to government stalemate.
We provide a suggested 3-step health reform plan for moving forward on an incremental and bipartisan basis, and urge Republicans to wake up and work with conservative Democrats to make it happen. I would also encourage you to read Representative Paul Ryan's "The Roadmap to Real Health Care Reform" and please add your comments to our blog.
Reader Favorites from Our Archives  We invite you to revisit and enjoy these reader favorites: |
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| Health Benefits Planning |
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Is Your Company Getting Its Money's Worth? |
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7 Steps to an Effective Health Insurance Renewal |
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Is Self Insurance in Your Future? |
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| Consumer Driven Healthcare |
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HSAs Can Make You "Carrier Agnostic" |
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Comparative Performance Data: HSAs vs. Traditional Plans |
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Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs) Introduce Employees to Healthcare Consumerism |
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| Wellness and Health Promotion |
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Case Study: Bending the Cost Curve—How Safeway Does It |
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Employee Weight Loss Can Shed Dollars from Your Health Plan Spending |
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| Medicare is a good place to start fixing healthcare. Click here to see how we propose the government should fix its Medicare Advantage program. |
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| Stay Away from Packaged Foods. In today's busy climate, we are all looking for household shortcuts. But don't succumb to the temptation of buying packaged foods. Most are high in sodium and white flour, low in fiber, and high in preservatives to extend the shelf life. A better approach is to buy fresh ingredients, which are good for you and less costly. If you buy in bulk and schedule a time for meal preparations, you can freeze your own cooking and save your wallet and waistline from going down the wrong path. Read more about Dr. Oz's packaged foods detox strategy. |
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About RMP
RMP draws on more than three decades of experience inside the health-care industry, using a risk-management approach to create smarter purchasers and consumers of healthcare — exposing wasted spending and helping clients get consistent maximum value for their health-care dollar.
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David Edman, Managing Partner
175 Strafford Avenue, Wayne, PA 19087
610-975-4415
http://www.rmpllc.biz
© 2010 Risk Management Partners, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This newsletter produced by FulcrumTech, LLC.