Measuring Value
Take the FIT Design Assessment to see how well your health management initiatives are aligned with value-based practices.
Check out these podcasts:
- Creating Total Value: Employee Benefit Strategies at Pitney Bowes
- Moving Away from Cost Shifting: Focusing on the Value of Health Benefits
- Introducing FIT DesignTM: A New Approach to Value-Based Benefit Design
- Part 1 of Total Value, Total ReturnTM
- Part 2 of Total Value, Total ReturnTM
- View all podcasts
Case Study: Pitney Bowes
Lowering Cost Barriers to Treatment
Pitney Bowes uses an integrated approach to disease management:
- A value-based benefit design for selective medical conditions.
- Brand-name medications for asthma, diabetes, and hypertension are designated as Tier 1 offerings. The coinsurance rate is 10%, instead of Tier 2 and 3 coinsurance rates of 30% and 50%, respectively.
Preliminary results after 3 years (2002-2004) include the following:
- Suboptimal adherence to insulin therapy decreased by two-thirds.1
- The percentage of employees using fixed combination oral hypoglycemics increased from 9% to 22%. Adherence rates increased, particularly among patients taking oral combination therapy.1
- Test-strip usage rates increased from 28% to 55%.1
- Total annual pharmacy costs per covered person showed a mild increase. But total pharmacy costs for employees with diabetes decreased by 7%.1
- Emergency room visits for employees with diabetes decreased by 26%.1
- Short-term disability days for employees with diabetes were reduced by approximately 50%.2
- Direct healthcare costs for employees with diabetes decreased by 6%.1
- Hospital admissions for employees with asthma were reduced by 38%.2
References:
- Mahoney JJ. Reducing patient drug acquisition costs can lower diabetes health claims. Am J Manag Care. 2005;11:S170-S176.
- Mahoney JJ. Role of employer and health plan in disease management. Presentation to National Business Coalition on Health. January 19, 2006.
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