Employer Strategies that Work

Employer Strategies that Work

Best Practices

Following are examples of best practices and strategies that work from a variety of employers.

Employer 1

A couple of years ago we noticed an alarming drop off in mammograms. We thus developed a mail campaign to alert women about the need for mammograms and the fact that it was free to them.

We identified those women over the age of 30 who we could not find a claim for a mammogram in the past 2 years. Each woman received a letter urging them to get their free mammogram and we listed a handful of local providers with their phone numbers. Utilization of mammograms spiked over the next few months, bringing our overall utilization above the national benchmark. We felt the strategy was a successful one.

We are now going to develop a letter to all adults discussing preventative care with clear recommendations for preventative care and screenings specific to men and women. We will then monitor claims for the next 6 months to measure the impact of this initiative.

Of course, the recent confusion over the frequency of these kinds of screenings has not helped us in getting folks to the doctor or screening facilities.

Employer 2

Setting: Manufacturing plant in Southern US

Employee count: 1,500

Beginning preventive screening rate: 35% bi-annually

Strategy:Risk-based premium credit program. $6 per month credit for not being high risk in the following areas: Blood Glucose, Tobacco Use, HDL, LDL, Total Cholesterol, BMI

Outcomes:

  • Screening rate increased to 99.5% of employees participating annually during birth month
  • >60% of employees were high risk in one or more risk factors
  • Screening included educating both males and females on how to perform exams of breasts and testicals using models with cancer; facilitating appointments for mammograms, colonoscopies, etc.
  • Nurses also facilitated medical follow-up on risks by physicians, nutritionist, etc.
  • Multiple additional medical issues identified via complete blood analysis including one case of leukemia in an employee who had not seen a physician in 14 years; two cases of hemochromatosis (end result is liver failure); 3 cases of breast cancer; 1 case of testicular cancer
  • First 2 years of program 0% ROI due to cost of screenings and treatment of identified risks
  • Year 3: Risk rate decreased to 40% of employees being high risk in one or more risk factors
  • Year 5: Risk rate down to 32%; ROI 2.5:1

Check back for more employer stories in the future.