Make Your Own Health Reform

In the midst of all of this health reform hubbub, I was struck by the simple message of an article by Rick Johnson for HealthLeaders Media, published July 28, 2009. He states:

"But whatever comes out of the other end of the health reform debate, insurers and employers should not count on the eventually watered down version of health reform - assuming some plan actually becomes law - to help change the direction of healthcare's cost curve. No, it is wiser to exhaust the tangible options at hand. A truly progressive employer is striving today for a mix of employee wellness efforts and contracts with health care organizations - both at home and abroad - that bring down the cost of some of the most pricey and common procedures....One day this health reform movement seems to gain momentum, and then the next day it loses traction..... So work today to bend your organization's cost curve. No one is going to do it for you tomorrow."

When we developed the theme for our recent August 26 conference, "Do It Yourself: Health Benefit Tools for Employers", we didn't know the twists and turns health reform would take. As it turned out, that was a perfect theme as the conference focused on what Memphis-area employers CAN do to bend their own cost curve. Actions around benefit design, vendor management, work site clinics, and activating your employees are all within your realm of control. You don't have to wait on Congress for changes in these areas. You don't have to wait for the health care delivery system to improve quality and become more efficient to take these steps.

Put these strategies that employers can do now together with local efforts to measure and report on provider performance, create systems to help providers improve the quality and efficiency of their care, and engage consumers across the whole community, and we have a recipe for our own local health reform.

Let's learn more together about ways we can bend our own cost curve and reform our own system and not wait for the federal government to make that happen. The more of us that take these types of actions, the faster we will see the difference.