Memphis Businesses Get Head Start on Health Reform through MBGH

Click here to read the ABC24 Eyewitness News report (aired on March 23 at 5:00) on the role MBGH plays in health reform.

In the interview, Cristie Upshaw Travis said that even though access to health care dominates the talk about health care reform, Travis said there’s more to the issue. “If we don’t pay attention to the cost and quality of services that everybody receives, we will never see an end to increased costs related to health care.”

MBGH "Ahead of the Health Reform Curve"

Click here to read the Daily News article on MBGH being a leader in preparing Memphis employers, hospitals, health plans and other providers for health reform.

Note: Cristie Upshaw Travis is a member of the Purchaser Advisory Council for NCQA, not a member of the Board.

MBGH Launches: Tobacco Cessation Benefits Tools & Solutions

MBGH launches its first Tools & Solutions center focusing on tobacco cessation benefits. Building off of our successful February 25, 2010 meeting, Smoking Cessation: The Purchaser Perspective, MBGH has created a web page dedicated to key information employers need to manage the cost & quality of their tobacco cessation benefits.Click here to access the web page.

Included on this web page are:

• Presentations from the February 25, 2010 meeting
• Purchaser's Guide: Summary Plan Description Language for tobacco use treatment
• Partnership for Prevention Business Outreach Package on Tobacco Cessation
• Employer Case Studies
• Sample Policies
• Publications

This site will evolve over time with new tools & solutions added as they are identified. Once our new website is launched, this information, as well as other information on other key benefit issues, will be available for our members/affiliates and supporters at the Patron level and above.

MBGH is committed to providing our members with current tools & solutions to manage the cost & quality of their health benefits in an ever-changing environment.

 

Health Plan Performance Improving Slightly for Diabetes, But More Work Needed

The National Business Coalition on Health's just released 2009 Health Plan Diabetes Performance report shows that there is only slight improvement in outreach and outcomes for diabetics in the surveyed plans. Approximately 81% of the diabetics had at least one A1C test, but approximately 43% of them had uncontrolled blood sugar levels.

These challenging outcomes exist even while large numbers of plans and their customers are using:

• Disease management
• Personal health assessments
• Gaps in care reminders for physicians
• NCQA's physician recognition program which identifies physicians with quality outcomes for their diabetic patients. 

Dennis White, Senior VP for Value-Based Purchasing at NBCH states, "Now the challenge is getting consumers engaged, using the tools, but also better coordination with employers for things like plan design and cultural reinforcement, and doctors to track and act on gaps in care.”

So, what are you doing in your plan design to help your outcomes improve?

This annual report is based upon results for the 70 health planscovering approximately 96 million Americans that particated in NBCH's 2009 eValue8 program. In Tennessee, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and CIGNA Healthcare of TN provided information through Memphis Business Group on Health.

Click here to read the Business Insurance article on the report.

Click here to access a copy of the report.

MBGH Convenes Members to Improve Depression Care for Employees

Thank you to Donna Marshall, Executive Director of the Colorado Business Group on Health, for meeting with 9 Memphis employers to encourage them to improve the depression care their employees receive. Donna's visit is part of a National Institutes of Mental Health-funded research project to understand how employers make benefit decisions regarding depression care. MBGH's eValue8 project shows that there is significant improvement needed in behavioral health care in Tennessee. Attendees learned that they should encourage their plans to:

• 
  
  Provide feedback to physicians about the quality of depression care they provide their patients
• 
  
  Lower co-pays, co-insurance for depression medication
• 
  
  Lower co-pays, co-insurance for behavioral health physician visits.

These 3 actions lead to improved adherence to therapy which results in better outcomes,  health, and productivity. In other words, cuts total costs.

Attendees have access to Donna for technical assistance and will provide study investigators information at 12 and 24 months on any changes made in benefits or benefit design.  Thanks again Donna for bringing this valuable information to our members!!

Memphis Medical Society Quarterly Magazine Reports on MBGH's eValue8 Project

Read the Winter 2010 edition of the Memphis Medical Society Quarterly magazine's highlights of the results of MBGH's 2009 eValue8 health plan evaluation, starting on page 8 of the pdf.  Click here for an on-line copy of the magazine.

MBGH Releases 2009 eValue8 Report

MBGH released our 2009 eValue8 report at our Annual Conference, "Do It Yourself: Health Benefit Tools for Employers", on August 26, 2009. This year BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and CIGNA participated. Next year we will once again report on all 5 major commercial health plans in Tennessee.

This report shows that both BCBST and CIGNA made improvements in identifying and tracking members for program participation and in notifying members of needed or missed services, otherwise called gaps in care. However, there is still significant room for improvement in all of these aspects.

Although there was improvement in some aspects, it was surprising that both plans were at or below the 25th percentile on key HEDIS measures for childhood immunization, well care visits for ages 3-6, adolescent visits, and behavioral health. MBGH will be working with these plans over the next year to identify interventions to improve these HEDIS scores.

Share your thoughts on this eValue8 report and health plan performance in TN by posting comments to this blog. You can see the entire report by clicking on the link below.

2009eValue8