Mercer CEO Portalatin Briefs Congress on Employer Healthcare Innovations
(c) Dwight Nadig
The many ways employers are taking action to transform the healthcare system to improve quality and value was the message Mercer, Boeing, and the American Benefits Council took to Capitol Hill on March 13. Meeting with several key senators who play an active role in shaping healthcare policy, Mercer CEO Julio Portalatin and Senior Partner Tracy Watts, Boeing Director of Global Health and Wellbeing Jeff White, and American Benefits Council President James Klein outlined some of the examples laid out in a new report from Mercer and ABC.
The paper describes programs developed by a diverse collection of large employers, designed to align payment with value, reward quality care, personalize the employee's experience, and embrace disruption in the healthcare market.
Boeing’s Jeff White explained how it set up Accountable Care Organizations to address poor care coordination and achieved better outcomes, higher member satisfaction, and improved financials. Additional case studies shared with the lawmakers noted how:
- A custom care-coordination model offers incentives for plan members and plan carriers to choose lower-cost, high-quality providers, with projected savings of 4% of total medical claims.
- A custom maternity-management program increased engagement by a factor of four, contained costs, and led to happier parents and healthier babies.
“Employers are instrumental in driving better quality outcomes and improving workforce health and productivity. It was important to see the interest in healthcare innovation from the lawmakers we met with. The study we’ve published shows the value of the employer-sponsored healthcare system,” said Portalatin.
The report is being shared with other members of Congress, the executive branch, state officials, and other opinion leaders to underscore the importance of enabling employers to address the challenges of the current healthcare system.