Robert Lieberthal, BA
Instructor
Jefferson School of Population Health
Recently, I attended National Business Coalition on Health's 15th annual conference. The NBCH is a national organization consisting of local business groups on health around the country. The local groups are made up of mostly mid to large sized employers who are big purchasers of healthcare and who want to get more value from their healthcare dollars.
The main impression that I got from the assembled employers and local business groups is that they are staying the course. Their main motivations for implementing population health programs – rising medical costs and the desire for a healthier work force – haven't gone away.
Major changes in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), such as first-dollar coverage for preventive services and the excise tax for high cost health plans, will only push employers more toward wellness programs and preventive medicine in the hopes of complying with current law and avoiding the consequences of having a high cost population.
Employers recognize that the PPACA didn't fundamentally change the health insurance system for large employers, and they are betting that future changes won't fundamentally affect their benefit structure, either. It was a good reminder that the huge shift on the provider side isn't mirrored by big changes for private payers.