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SCBCH Newsletter - May 2009 | |
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Diabetes Roundtable
May 21
Second M&M Session
June 2
Board of Directors Meeting
June 9
Small Business Workshop
September 9
Fall Panel Workshop
October 21 |
Register now to attend the College for Value Based Purchasing of Health Benefits
JUNE 1-4, 2009
Columbus, OH
SEPT 14-17, 2009
Memphis, TN
Click Here to Register | |
Group Issues Health Care Quality Report
On March 24, the Stand for Quality coalition (www.standforquality.org) released Building a Foundation for High Quality, Affordable Health Care: Linking Performance Measurement to Health Reform, a report that provides recommendations for improving the efficiency and affordability of medical care. The Stand for Quality coalition represents more than 150 organizations, including NBCH, across the health care spectrum. Stand for Quality also is developing draft legislation for consideration by Congress as part of comprehensive health care reform.
The Stand for Quality report's six recommendations are:
1. Set national priorities and provide coordination for quality improvement;
2. Endorse and maintain nationally standardized measures;
3. Develop measures to fill gaps in priority areas;
4. Ensure that providers and other stakeholders have a role in developing policies on use of measures;
5. Collect, analyze, and make performance information available and actionable;
6. Support a sustainable infrastructure for quality improvement.
Source: NBCH
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May is National High Blood Pressure Education Month
May is National High Blood Pressure Education Month. About 73 million people in the United States have high blood pressure, which is also called hypertension. High blood pressure increases the risk for heart disease and stroke, the first and third leading causes of death in the United States. Researchers estimate that high blood pressure will cost more than $73 billion in direct and indirect costs in 2009. Click here for information available from the CDCMay is Asthma & Allergy Awareness Month
May is a peak time for spring allergies that arise due to the abundance of different allergens at this particular time of the year. These allergens trigger attacks of asthma or seasonal allergies that plague sufferers with the problems of itching, sneezing, watery eyes and breathing difficulties. That makes the month of May a perfect time to raise public awareness about such conditions and educate people on how to manage these issues, which medications to take and what not to do.
Click here for information from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America
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NBCH Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) Issue Brief:
Heralded for the past several years as the cornerstone for reducing health care costs and increasing the quality of care, many lawmakers and health care experts say more research should be done to study which medicines, devices, and procedures work best at treating different diseases. As a nation, if we can better align treatment with medical best practices, it is probable that we could improve the quality of care patients get and bring down costs of health care across the board. To that end, a small, safe step toward health care reform and a modest proposal to accelerate comparative effectiveness research was signed into law on February 17, 2009 by President Obama as part of the $787 billion spending bill intended to stimulate the economy. But the vocal opposition to the provision took Democrats somewhat by surprise and probably foretells difficult fights ahead when President Obama seeks to make broader changes to the health care system, including an expected expansion of the comparison studies. Compared to the overall size of the stimulus, the $1.1 billion dedicated to comparative effectiveness research, while far more than the $50 million the government spent in fiscal 2009 on such research, is small relative to the cost of the work that needs to be done. Given this new interest and focus on CER by Congress and the President, we thought it would be a good time to develop a policy paper that outlines the current CER political landscape, as well as the pro and con arguments, including those of major stakeholders. The NBCH Government Affairs Committee hopes that the coalition members and their employers find this paper to be a useful resource to better understand the issues involved with CER. To access the paper, please click here. Source: NBCH |
 Closing the Gap: Employee Perspectives on Health Care
As health costs continue to rise and the economy slows, employees are being challenged to take more responsibility for their own health. But, in order to develop effective plans and support programs for employees, employers must first understand what drives their workers' health care decisions. To narrow the gap between desired and actual employee behavior, employers can listen to the voice of the consumer - their employees.
This report, the first of two based on the data, discusses the relationship between health, productivity and costs. The second report, which will be published in early 2009, will focus on the links between employee health and performance at work. Responses from nearly 2,500 U.S. workers are compiled in the second installment of Watson Wyatt's "2008/2009 Employee Perspectives on Health Care" report. This year's findings shed light on how employees view their company's health care programs and which health, education and communication programs best encourage employees to accept the invitation to change their behavior and lead healthier lifestyles. Although responses were collected in May and June of 2008, before the full extent of the financial crisis was known, they illustrate employees' sensitivity to higher health care premiums. They also indicate clearly that companies can do more to create a culture of health
that helps lower workers' health care costs while improving their health status and productivity. Key findings this year include:
- Nearly one-fifth (19 percent) of employees are willing to pay more money out of their paycheck in order to keep health costs low and predictable. This represents a marked difference compared with results from 2007, when twice as many were open to higher premiums for more certain health care costs.
- Two-thirds of employees are trying to take better care of themselves, while many others are trying to reduce their health care costs. However, this year more employees are also taking actions (e.g., missed doctor's visit or skipped doses of prescribed medications) that might lead to larger expenses down the road.
- Many employees believe that their employers could do more to foster a culture of health. Slightly less than majority say that their employer promotes a healthy work environment (41 percent) and that their senior leaders visibly support a culture of health (45 percent).
- A vast majority of employees (85 percent) say they have a primary care physician, a key to preventive care. These employees are more likely to be engaged in their health, and 76 percent are getting preventive screenings.
- Financial incentives are still the most effective way to encourage participation in health related programs. More than half (52 percent) of employees respond enthusiastically to financial incentives that are targeted to their needs by demographic, job type or condition.
Click Here for the Full Report
Source: Watson Wyatt
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2008 State of Health Care Quality Report
In its 2008 State of Health Care Quality Report, the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) reported that more than 100 million Americans are now enrolled in accountable health plans that consistently measure performance, and report independently audited data to NCQA for public release. This represents an increase of 29 percent, or 24 million lives, in just one year. This increase was due to the addition of nearly 100 preferred provider organizations (PPO) that reported quality data for the first time in 2008. As many as 205,000 lives have been saved throughout the more consistent delivery of care in accordance with evidence-based guidelines.
Despite this progress, there are still over 200 million Americans who know very little or nothing at all about the quality and safety of their care. The report also found that for the ninth consecutive year, health care delivered by plans that measure and report continue to improve despite rising costs and a slowing national economy.
The table below demonstrate that if the entire health care system were to perform as well as the top 10 percent of plans, NCQA estimates that up to 88,900 lives could be saved each and every year, and up to $3.7 billion in unnecessary hospital costs could be avoided.
Poor quality care also leads to as many as 51.6 million avoidable sick days, the functional equivalent of removing 206,000 full-time employees from the workforce. Workers and their employers pay a high price for low-quality care. Among only five conditions, the failure to deliver evidence-based care resulted in more than $8.5 billion in lost productivity in 2007.
NCQA recommends that in order to make further improvements in the health care system, both private and public purchasers must make measurement and reporting a condition of providing coverage. In order to eliminate gaps in care, the NCQA recommends tying payment to outcomes for both plans and physicians that rewards high performance.
Click Here for the Full Report
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Health Fair Assistance
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