| VOLUME 2 | ISSUE 9 | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010 | http://www.rmpllc.biz |
The holidays are rapidly approaching, so it's a good time to reflect on what's happened in healthcare during 2010. The early part of the year focused on the debate over how to reform our healthcare system. After a reform bill was signed into law in March, we spent the summer trying to understand what it says and preparing for its initial implementation in October. Now, employers are dealing with a continuation of significant premium increases despite the fact that health cost trends are declining slightly (yes, it's true). The newly elected Congress will convene in January to figure out where we go from here.Our intention in this newsletter — and in our work with employers — is to give you practical advice on how best to manage your healthcare costs in the current environment. We believe, and we can demonstrate, that employers have more control over their healthcare costs than the conventional wisdom would have you believe. A good place to start is with this month's feature, which discusses how to close the efficiency gap in your organization's healthcare spending.
| David Edman Managing Partner Risk Management Partners LLC |
Closing Your Organization's "Efficiency Gap" — 4 Lessons from Our Recent Healthcare Symposium
American businesses face a competitive disadvantage in today's global economy, and one of the principal reasons is the cost of healthcare. This month's feature summarizes what you should know from our seminar — "Closing the Efficiency Gap" — that was held on September 14, 2010. In this article, we explain the underlying drivers of healthcare costs and, more importantly, what you can do about them.Plus, read about new and better approaches to paying providers, such as the Prometheus Payment system, a new approach that seeks to align incentives among patients, providers, and payers of healthcare. It addresses the problem of "avoidable complications," with financial rewards for those providers who meet the desired objectives. Thanks again to our seminar co-sponsors, HCI3/Bridges to Excellence and Hildebrandt Baker Robbins. Read more.
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November's Quick Question for You |
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| Q. |  When the 112th Congress convenes in Washington in January, over 100 freshman members will arrive, including 93 new representatives in the House. Our question for you is, "What would you like the new Congress to do about health reform?" |
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| A. | Please choose one of the following: a) Continue with the implementation of Obamacare in its present form. b) Maintain Obamacare, but change or rescind certain provisions to improve the reform that was passed. c) Repeal and replace Obamacare with a different approach to health reform. d) Not sure (and I wish it would just go away). |
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| We'll publish the results of this survey in the next newsletter and on our Web site. | |||
Health Reform Corner  In this section, we'll provide you with tidbits and suggestions for more reading on various aspects of the healthcare debate. |
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Want to get basic information to help you understand the new health reform law? Watch "Health Reform Hits Main Street," a short video from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. |
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Health Care Tax Credit for Small Employers – if you have fewer than 25 full-time workers, average annual wages of less than $50,000, and pay at least 50% of the cost of healthcare for your workers, you may want to apply for this credit. |
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Two United States Senators who are physicians, Tom Coburn, MD, and John Barrasso, MD, have published a report, "Grim Diagnosis - A check-up on the federal health law," detailing the impact of the new healthcare law on business, workers, and the U.S. economy. |
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Implementation of the health reform law is now taking place at the state level. Despite a federal lawsuit, this is where the action is and the states, not Congress, can thwart the healthcare law. |
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Approximately 11.8 million Medicare beneficiaries (almost one-quarter of those eligible) are in Medicare Advantage plans. We have been advocating for fixing Medicare Advantage, and see some positive steps in that direction, as reported by The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation's "Medicare Advantage 2011 Data Spotlight." |
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| Don't Sit Still – It's Bad for You. The working world today is fast paced, but at the same time, it's also very sedentary. We communicate mostly through technology while sitting still. For the body, this is not progress, but a setback. Stiffness, weight gain, inflammation, and mental fog can set in. For diseases like arthritis, the inactivity adds to pain. Learn ways to keep moving to minimize your aches and pains and improve your overall health status. Read more. | ||
About RMP
RMP draws on more than three decades of experience inside the healthcare 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
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http://www.rmpllc.biz
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