Managing Specialty Drug Spending is Top Priority For 88% of Employers

Willis Towers Watson recently released results from the 21st annual Best Practices in Health Care Employer Survey. Here are some key findings from the report:

·         Employers expect employer and employee healthcare costs to increase 5% in 2016 and 2017.

·         Average employee annual costs are expected to rise to $12,338 in 2016 and $13,000 in 2017.

·         81% of employers will make modest changes to cost-sharing provisions for 2017.

·         Managing spending for high-cost specialty drugs is top priority for 88% of employers.

·         Half of employers offering an account-based plan expect that to be the only choice by 2018.

·         28% of employers have reduced spousal subsidies by adding surcharges.

Source: Willis Towers Watson, August 2, 2016

2.3% of Black or Hispanic Children Received Mental Healthcare

The International Journal of Health Services recently published a study on racial disparities in mental healthcare for children. Here are some key findings from the report:

·         11-12% of white and black children needed mental health care, while 7% of Hispanic children did.

·         5.7% of white children and young adults were likely to see a mental health specialist in a given year.

·         Approximately 2.3% of black or Hispanic young people were likely to see a mental health specialist.

·         Black and Hispanic children had 130 fewer visits per thousand subjects than their white counterparts.

·         Black young adults visited a mental health specialist about 280 fewer times per thousand.

·         Hispanics had 244 fewer visits per thousand than white young adults.

Source: International Journal of Health Services, August 12, 2016

4 Actions Needed by Physicians & Health Executives to Accelerate Value-Based Care

1. Seventy-four percent of physicians and health plan executives said that quality measures are too complex, making it difficult for physicians to achieve them

 

2. About two-thirds (65 percent) of physicians said they do not have all the healthcare information they need about their patients

 

3. Sixty-four percent of physicians and health plan executives said that physicians do not have the tools needed to succeed in a value-based care system

 

4. Eighty-five percent of physicians are likely to use a tool that provides on-demand patient-specific data to identify gaps in quality, risk and utilization as well as medical history insight

 

 

 

Source:Quest Diagnostics

3 ways that ACOs could ensure greater savings for the long-term

1. Review and follow all state laws and regulations related to the operation of ACOs

2. Pursue cost savings and quality improvements despite the fact that the beginning stages may not show immediate results

3. Incorporate risk-based strategies when developing payment contracts in an accountable care environment

   

 

 

 

Source:"How to Strengthen Accountable Care Organizations, MSSP," Health Payer Intelligence

 

8 ways retail clinics are shaping healthcare today

1. Retail clinics have been able to adopt information technology and data sharing efficiently to communicate with the healthcare provider’s electronic health record system

2. They are growing beyond urgent care toward chronic disease management and having a larger impact on population health

3. Retail clinics are forming relationships with medical schools and teaching hospitals, including Cleveland Clinic and the University of Chicago Medical Center’s relationships with MinuteClinics

4. Walgreens’ in-store clinics are coordinating care for patients and invested in the Epic EHR for a communications and IT infrastructure

5. The Little Clinic in Kroger stores is going even further to work with preventative services on healthy food choices, dieticians and managing consumer issues such as diabetes or allergies

6. The retail clinics have self check-in kiosks for appointments and provide blood pressure, pulse, weight and BMI through self-serving machines. At Walmart, customers can get a full physical for $40

7. In some retail clinic models, pharmacists are taking on medication therapy management roles for patients

8. Consumers are learning to manage high-deductible health plans, making the lower costs at retail clinics attractive

 

 

 

 

Source:Becker's Hospital Review

According to a recent survey of community health centers in California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii ...

the following are the most common mechanisms for receiving patient feedback:

• surveys (94% of respondents)
• advisory councils (69%)
• suggestion boxes (57%)
• inviting patients to take part in quality improvement committees (36%)
• soliciting patient feedback on information materials (33%)
• involving patients in selecting referral resources (28%)

Source: "REPORTS FROM THE FIELD: Engaging Patients as Partners in Practice Improvement: A Survey of Community Health Centers," Journal of Cliinical Outcomes Management (JCOM), July 2016, http://www.jcomjournal.com/reports-from-the-field-engaging-patients-as-partners-in-practice-improvement-a-survey-of-community-health-centers/

According to a recent study...

... the percentage of workers covered by health plans, who were enrolled in plans that were self-insured by their employers, increased from 58.2% to 60% from 2013 to 2015.

Source: "Self-Insured Health Plans: Recent Trends by Firm Size,1996‒2015, p.2," Employee Benefti Research Institute Notes, July 2016, https://www.ebri.org/pdf/notespdf/EBRI_Notes_07-no7-July16.Self-Ins.pdf