Robin J. Moody
Employers providing health benefits often feel powerless in the face of rising health care costs, and simply shift the costs to workers. But panelists at the Oregon Health Forum breakfast Thursday shared other approaches they are using to curb costs while getting better quality care for their money.
TOC Management Services, an association of wood products and manufacturing employers representing thousands of employees, uses a four-pronged strategy to approach health benefits.
It is tweaking plan designs, working to improve communication with members, beefing up disease management programs and aiming to help members be more savvy health care consumers.
For disease management and education, TOC has targeted diabetes, prenatal care, back pain and heart burn, which cost TOC employers $1 million in a recent year. Diabetes patients costs the company four times more than the average covered member, noted TOC Employee Benefits Manager Jim Walton.
Posted by gruwell at July 30, 2004 1:54 PM