Viewpoint
For several years, southeastern Wisconsin businesses have experienced double-digit increases in health care costs. Reports by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and countless others indicated both hospital and physician reimbursements were higher than the national average and well above the Midwest average.
Recently, however, we have started to see market-driven strategies implemented by the business community and other groups in the state take hold in solving one of the largest common threats to our region’s economic vitality – unbridled increases in the cost of health care.
One illustration of progress toward reducing health care costs in the region comes from a recent report from the Business Health Care Group. As the executive director of that group, we found nearly a 14-percent aggregate drop in health care costs in 2006 for 15 of our self-funded member companies that had comparative year data available. Results also showed that among our fully-insured companies with fewer than 100 employees, 38 percent saw renewal rates below the upward cost trend, which is around 10 percent. Among employers with 100 or more employees, 56 percent also saw renewal rates below trend levels. These savings are the direct result of collaborative efforts among the medical community, employers, consumers and payers, all of whom have been crucial to gaining ground on runaway health care costs.
Providers in our area are becoming more price-sensitive and paying greater attention to evidenced-based medicine, quality and efficiency measures. On the opposite side of the equation, consumers are beginning to seek out more information to make wiser choices in health care because of the direct impact of those decisions on their pocketbooks. And, employers are starting to support consumer engagement through wellness and educational programs. The Greater Milwaukee Committee’s Well City Initiative under the guidance of the Wellness Council of America signals a shift in employer support for preventative cost saving measures.
Across Wisconsin, initiatives designed to produce downward pressure on health care costs and improve quality have been recognized nationally by the likes of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt. During a stop in Milwaukee earlier this year, the secretary recognized the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality as one of only six organizations nationally designated as a Better Quality and Information for Medicare Beneficiaries Pilot. He also designated Madison’s Alliance and the Business Health Care Group as community leaders in implementing value-driven health care.
Based on my travels around the country to share our experiences, it seems Wisconsin is a model many states can use in getting a handle on health care costs and improving quality. Even though we remain significantly above the Midwest average in terms of cost, two reports released in June by separate groups seem to support the premise that statewide progress is being made toward driving meaningful change in cost and quality.
Results from the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality showed Wisconsin ranked No. 1 for health care quality based on performance of hospitals. And, the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation working toward a high performance health system, ranked Wisconsin among the 10 best states when comparing the performance of health care systems.
Granted, there is much work to be done. But it is important to recognize progress. If we continue to work together on improving the state of health care in southeastern Wisconsin, that light at the end of the tunnel just might not be the train we all expected.
As business owners in the region, derailing the suffocating economic impact of rising health care costs starts with your involvement in any one of the numerous efforts underway to reduce the cost of health care and improve quality.
