MBGH Connections
Volume 5, Issue 1
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In this Issue:
Employer Reactions to Health Care Reform
MBGH Receives Grant for Tobacco Prevention Efforts
MBGH Launches Community-Based Collaborative
Employer Resources in VBD
Upcoming MBGH Programs
| New MBGH Members |
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| Dossia |
Provant Health
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| Dover Corporation |
Resurrection Health Care
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| Engaged Health Solutions |
S & C Electric
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| OfficeMax |
Walgreens
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Employer Reactions to Health Care Reform
In a December 2010 survey, conducted by MBGH and co-sponsored by the National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH), Business Insurance and Workforce Management, the findings indicate that employers believe the law will increase their benefit costs and changes are needed in the law to improve quality, reduce expenses and reward health system performance. This is a follow up to an MBGH survey conducted with Business Insurance in April 2010 to gain an understanding of areas of most concern to employers on health reform to help educate and inform purchasers.
“There remains a great deal of uncertainty among employers about how health reform will ultimately impact their efforts to provide health benefits for their employees,” said Larry Boress, MBGH president and CEO. “However, it’s clear that keeping workers healthy is a key focus. In fact, employers are already implementing strategic health management approaches and these are quickly evolving into viable cost reduction strategies.” full press release
The December MBGH survey was highlighted in a February 2011 article in the NY Times that focused on recent legislation which puts an end to lifetimes limits on coverage. For a summary of the survey's key findings, click here.
MBGH Receives Grant for Tobacco Prevention Efforts
The Midwest Business Group on Health is one of 30 Chicago-based community organizations to be awarded subcontracts totaling more than $2 million to provide vulnerable communities with smoking cessation resources and promote policies that encourage tobacco-free living.
The contracts were awarded as part of the Chicago Tobacco Prevention Project (CTPP), a partnership between the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago and the Chicago Department of Public Health. “Local partners are an important part of our strategy in approaching Chicago’s diverse communities with culturally appropriate messaging to help people quit smoking and with policy ideas that are feasible to implement,” said Joel Africk, president and chief executive officer of the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago.
MBGH will work with the employer community to assist firms in designing comprehensive, value-based benefit coverage that enables workers to stop smoking and to develop “best practice” policies and procedures to create tobacco-free worksite campuses. full press release
MBGH Launches Community-Based Collaborative
Midwest Business Group on Health and CBS 2 Chicago, in cooperation with numerous local and national organizations, have launched a health awareness campaign combining the power of television, the internet and personal contact to help people improve and manage health conditions. The Take Control of Your Health (TCYH ) information series runs during 2011. TCYH is aimed at providing the Chicagoland community with information and tools to help people better understand and manage their health and the health of their families. Initial topics will include information on the importance of staying on medications, new medication delivery options for patients with diabetes and quitting smoking. full press release
Employer Resources in Value-Based Benefit Design (VBD)
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NBCH Value-Based Purchasing Guide - A new website providing resources for health-care purchasers implementing value-based strategies to improve health and health care.
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IBI Health & Productivity Cost Estimator - A tool to assist employers in understanding the cost of health and productivity as they implement benefit programs post health reform.
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Center for Health Value Innovation - An organization that offers tools and resources that accelerate engagement, build accountability, and crate predictable cost trends through value-based benefit design strategies.
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Upcoming MBGH Educational Programs
March 16 - Health Data Management
April 14 - Employee Onsite Clinics
May 5 & 6 - 31st Annual Conference
June 15 - Trends in Health Care Payment Models
August 24 & 25 - 5th Annual Pharmacy Benefits Academy
Click for full calendar
Need to contact us? Click on MBGH Staff