Employers are increasingly adopting consumer-driven health plans to engage employees and lower costs. Representatives from several Wisconsin companies discussed their experiences with these plans. They described using tools to help employees understand costs and make informed decisions. While changing employee behavior can be challenging, regular communication and incentives are helping to encourage healthier lifestyles. Consumer-driven strategies seem to be reducing health care cost trends for these employers and providing other benefits as well.

1. Advertising supplement
CONSUMER-DRIVEN HEALTH CARE:
THe eMPLoyeRS’ exPeRience
Panel
veraging Health
MaRk Sabljak kRiStine SeyMouR Dianne kiehl
leaDeRS
publisher, the business JournAl president, executive director,
serving greAter milwAukee humAnA wisconsin business heAlth cAre group
cRaig ReynolDS chRiStine ReichaRDt Staci benz
onsin Summit on Value-Based Design
PaRticiPantS briggs & strAtton
corporAtion
JournAl communicAtions children’s hospitAl
And heAlth system
oved Health and Productivity
11, 2009, e Businessw. bAird Humana and e Center VanHealth Value Innovation will generAl corporAtion
liSa MRozinSki
robert
Journal, loRi for Dalen
luther mAnor
SuSan butleR
msi
host a loRa MiRaSola
chArter mAnufActuring
t on the topic of “Leveraging Health: e Wisconsin Summit on Value-Based Design for Improved
ductivity.” e goal of this summit is to share the best practices in health innovation from com-
d around Wisconsin.
Employers increasingly understand the importance of improving employee health but have questions about how to engage their employees
hosted by: and implement effective, consumer-driven programs. Mark Sabljak, publisher of The Business Journal Serving Greater Milwaukee, recently
sat down with employers and representatives of Humana and the Business Health Care Group, to discuss their experiences and insights
f QuadMed and Vice President of the Center for Health Value Innovation from their discussion.
into consumer-driven strategies. Following are excerpts
Q. driven strategies benefitted your orga-
o-founder of the Center for Health ValueHave consumer-
MARK SABLJAK: Innovation
A. LISA MROZINSKI: We have actually done a
number of things. We are a member of the Busi- A. VAN DALEN: We started with the Humana Re-
wards program at the first of the year. We are very
nization?
CPE, Humana Market Medical Officer - Great Lakes Region ness Health Care Group, which has been very advanta- cautious about our expenses, so the program is ideal for
geous in helping us to reduce our health-care costs. We us, because it provides us with a tool that is ready to use.
A. LORA MIRASOLA: Consumer-driven strate-
dtable discussion you’ll have absolutely benefitted our organization.
gies discover:
also went to a full-replacement consumer-driven health
plan in 2008 and we are integrating our wellness and
REYNOLDS: We provide a reward for completing health-
novations across the stateus to engage our employees, which has
They’ve helped of Wisconsin health care strategies.
risk assessment and another for passing the risk factors.
t drive tremendous value foron our costs and their costs. They
had a huge impact individuals, families, organizations and the communities We also have something called “Lose 10” that gives people
ey live helped us introduce things we would never have thought MIRASOLA: Our main focus is educating our employ- who are outside their healthy-weight corridors $220 if they
of doing eight years ago. ees through group training such as the eight on-line lose 10 percent of their weight. A little more than 2,300
pts to improve health and productivity outcomes
videos from the Business Health Care Group A Buyer’s employees participated and about 455 accomplished the
wn by Value-Based VAN DALEN: We’ve definitely seen a few changes
LORI designs
Guide to Health Care to promote consumer engagement task. We also offer a series of interactive on-line courses. If
in our renewal increases year to year. We are not zero or you complete the courses, you can participate in a drawing
and behavior change and one-on-one sessions. We also
negative, but we are definitely moving in the right direction. for zero employee health care contributions.
use incentive programs to encourage participation. This
November 11, 2009
DIANNE KIEHL: Our self-funded employers have beat the year, we are introducing a $1,000 noncompliance fee for SUSAN BUTLER: We allow people to take time off
market trendPresident’s Room -decrease of 1.5
e Pfister Hotel - with a cumulative three-year 424 E. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee who don’t participate in
family members and employees during their workday to work out in our fitness centers.
percent. That’s about $172 million in saved dollars, which is
8 a.m. Registration - 8:30-11 a.m. Program case management program.
impressive.
our condition Employees can also earn days off if they spend a certain
amount of time in the fitness center.
CRAIG REYNOLDS: We have an on-site medical clinic
Q. SABLJAK: Please describe some of
the consumer-driven approaches you
that provides a safety net for people who have difficulties
meeting the high deductible. They can go to the clinic and
KRISTINE SEYMOUR: One of the things we are most
excited about is the Humana Momentum program, which
cludes continental breakfast and
are using to reduce your health care costs. REGISTER NOW
get primary-care services for free. We also promote the offers incentives to employers. If you, as an employer, in-
vest in helping to support your employees to do the right
new book from the Center for use of Humana’s transparency tools.
Please RSVP to Marcia Jaquith thing and allow us to come in and communicate to them
Innovation: “Leveraging Health:
Sponsored by:
at 239-641-2553 orREICHARDT: Inat everyone will have
CHRISTINE by e-mail April, about wellness, there are going to be premium reductions
th status and bend the financial a health savings account with a high-deductible health for you and potentially, your employees.
before Oct. 16, 2009.
mj@vbhealth.org Charter Manufacturing, we encourage em-
plan. Like
lue-based designs.” Limited seatingto view the ‘Meet Joe’ videos from the Business
ployees available.
Health Care Group, which encourage employees to ask
Q. parency tools to empowerusing trans-
SABLJAK: How are you
your em-
questions. We also provide incentives for employees to ployees to use their benefits wisely?
use certain providers for MRI, CT scans and ultrasounds.
A. REICHARDT: We use Humana’s Plan Professor,
which lets employees look at the expenses they
Q. incentive programsare some using to en-
SABLJAK: What
you are
of the had during the year and then apply that experience to the
through an educational grant from Merck, Inc. courage employees to lead healthier lifestyles? continue reading on next page
What’s been missing from your Specialty Benefits portfolio?
Find out more at Humana.com
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2. Advertising supplement
continued from preViouS page perspective?
At Humana, we do our best to provide you with
A.
plan design to see what would happen if they chose vari- BUTLER: I
ous options. We also use Humana’s Smart Summary, which would say they innovative solutions that will help
explains to members their utilization of the plan, including understand it. It’s always a your employees live healthier lives
pharmacy, and gives them tips on how to save money. shock for someone when
We’ve had an extremely positive reaction to that from our
and help you lower your health care
you go a high deductible, but
employees and retirees. People look forward to getting it. I think people realize that the costs. Consumer-driven health plans
STACI BENZ: We also use an evaluator tool that uses Cadillac policies that covered are a major part of that solution.
claims data to help employees compare choices. There everything are gone.
is often an “ah-ha” moment when a person realizes how – Kristine Seymour, Humana
MIRASOLA: Our
much a procedure costs or how much they spent over employees have started
the last 12 months. It’s really created some awareness of to take some steps in the
what things actually cost. right direction, and it will be a continued effort between us,
Q. SABLJAK: Does the way you communi-
the employer, the employee and the overall community. Q. tangible benefits youRoi to your
SABLJAK: can
or
attribute any
cate for consumer-driven plans differ from MROZINSKI: One of the things we’ve noticed is that consumer-driven approach?
how you communicate for traditional plans? people are actually trying to do more health care planning
A. REICHARDT: Yes, most definitely. In order to
just like they do 401(k) and retirement planning. That has
been very interesting to us. A. REYNOLDS: I don’t think you can make a
causal relationship with any particular piece,
help people understand the concepts, you have but you can point to a combination of things, all of which
to bring it to them in smaller bites and more frequently
so they can digest it. If you tell them at open enrollment
Q. barriers thatWhat arebe overcome to
SABLJAK:
have to
some of the have a consumer-driven thread. Take our experience with
reducing emergency room usage. Is that more the result of
but don’t follow up, they will have totally forgotten the get employees engaged? the consumer education? Is it more the result of having a
concept by the time they go to use it.
A.
clinic available? You can’t say for sure, but these things in
MIRASOLA: Changing behavior. Employees
MIRASOLA: We have on-site, one-on-one training to combination bear all kinds of benefits over the long haul.
sometimes feel intimidated by their doctor. How do
help employees understand how to be a health care con- you get them to feel confident to question what the doctor BENZ: We measure our wellness program in cohort
sumer. We meet with individuals to address their individu- or nurse is telling them? We have wallet cards so that groups from year over year and there has been a statisti-
al challenges. What don’t they understand? Do they know individuals know the common questions they should ask of cally significant reduction in risk factors over time.
how to use the Humana web site? Do they know how they their doctor or pharmacist. Another strategy we found to be
can save money on prescriptions? MROZINSKI: We’ve seen it from a recruiting perspective.
real successful is to reinforce the message over and over. People want to know what your health-care cost increases
SEYMOUR: By giving people information about products As Christine mentioned, we have to make sure our em-
have been and what kind of wellness program you have.
and services along with the proper tools, they can turn ployees hear about this regularly and not just during open
that information into informed decisions. It empowers the
individual to customize coverage and encourages active
enrollment. We want people to know about this before they
actually have to use the plan. Q. would you offer torecommendations
SABLJAK: What
employers looking
decision making.
REYNOLDS: I think there are always concerns about to implement consumer-driven strategies?
Q. culture affected the way you commu-
SABLJAK: How has your corporate apathy and information overload.
A. REYNOLDS: Be sure you do your prep work
and start with a single campaign where you have
nicate with your employees? buy-in from the folks who are going to be affected. We
have found that people support things they help to create.
A. VAN DALEN: Because we are a 24/7 organi-
zation and because we have people who have REICHARDT: What you need to do is find tools that will
a variety of different communication tools available to engage employees and help them to understand that they
them, we use everything – our computer system, our can make a difference in their lifestyle. If you lower the
e-mail system, posters by time clocks, posters on bulletin barrier, if you make it a little bit easier for people to attain
boards, table tents in staff dining, one-on-one communi- the resources and the pharmacy that they need, they are
cation and the company newsletter. more likely to be compliant. If they are more compliant,
SUSAN BUTLER: Since our HR department is smaller, then they are more likely to be healthier.
we take advantage of Humana’s communication materi- Dianne Kiehl, Business Health Care Group BENZ: You need to make sure that everything that you
als and support tools to help educate our employees on are doing is data-driven and that your programs are a
various topics. cultural fit.
KIEHL: The key parts of our strategy are accountability
REICHARDT: I think the biggest hurdle for us is that we and alignment. We have to help our member companies VAN DALEN: I think it’s really important to look at
are a national organization with lots of locations. We use understand who is accountable for what among the where you want to go as an organization and then make
e-mails, but some people don’t engage with electronic different parties engaged in health care: the consumers, sure your employees understand why you want to go
communication. We’ve also evolved to Twitter and Face- the employers, the plan sponsors, the providers, and the there. People need to understand the importance of
book so people can receive messages on their phone. administrator. We have to make sure that we are engaged holding down health-care costs so the organization can
SEYMOUR: In this day and age, people like to be able to in activities that promote that accountability. We also have continue to provide the services that it does.
customize how they want to be communicated with. Hu- to make sure that everyone is working toward the same
goal, which is the alignment aspect.
mana has a program that allows you to select your The information on these pages came from sponsors who paid for
preferred method of communication. Borrowing a message from Humana, this is a not a sprint. their participation in the roundtable. The Business Journal editorial
This is a marathon, and so the work is not done and it will department was not involved in this project.
Q. embraced a Have your employees
SABLJAK:
consumer-driven health
never be done, but I think it’s wonderful to see that busi-
nesses working together can actually create a change.
Questions, please contact Business Journal Publisher
Mark Sabljak at (414) 908-0555 or msabljak@bizjournals.com
Our new Specialty Benefits will make you
see things a little differently.
Find out more at Humana.com
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