Annual health plan survey and evaluation encourages transparency and accountability,
promotes quality improvement
promotes quality improvement
WASHINGTON – September 16, 2014 – Kaiser Permanente Colorado was named the top performing health plan according to the 2014 eValue8 results released by the non-profit National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH). A critical element of purchasers’ value-based purchasing strategy, eValue8 is an annual health care accountability and quality improvement assessment used by employers and coalitions to manage the quality and efficiency of America’s health plans.
“We’ve incorporated eValue8 and the results into our RFI and procurement process,” said Kerry Schaefer, manager, Compensation & Benefits, for King County in Washington. “Plans can’t do well on an eValue8 survey unless they are putting a heavy emphasis on value-based benefit design.”
2014 benchmark plans
Plans who achieved the best performance (benchmark) among all insurers responding for specific modules include:
- Physician and Hospital Management and Measurement – Aetna Washington
- Helping Members Stay Healthy – Kaiser Permanente Colorado
- Helping Members Become Good Consumers – Cigna CaliforniaHelping Members Manage Acute/Episodic Conditions – Cigna Connecticut and Group Health Cooperative
- Helping Members Manage Chronic Conditions – Kaiser Permanente Colorado
- Pharmaceutical Management – Kaiser Permanente Colorado
- Business Practices – Cigna California
According to the NBCH Value-based Purchasing Council, savvy plans understand that buying health care on price alone is only a quick fix. While it might save some money in the short-term, it is neither a sound nor sustainable strategy to bend the cost curve. Value-based purchasing can help shift the paradigm of why employers offer health benefits, from seeing it as a recruitment and retention tool, to an opportunity to improve population health, increase productivity, and ultimately the employers’ bottom line.
“eValue8 helps purchasers understand the value of their investment in providing health benefits,” said Foong-Khwan Siew, Director eValue8 for NBCH. “The program advances value-based purchasing by measuring and reporting on year-to-year plan accountability.”
2015 survey release
The 2015 eValue8 survey will be available for health plans to complete in November. NBCH encourages purchasers and their consultants to ask their plans to respond to eValue8 2015 to assess the value of their investment.
About eValue8
An annual health care purchasing and quality improvement assessment process, eValue8 was created by business coalitions and employers like Marriott and General Motors to measure and evaluate health plan performance. eValue8 asks health plans questions about how they manage critical processes that control costs, reduce and eliminate waste, ensure patient safety, close gaps in care and improve health and health care.
NBCH believes that local business coalitions are key in facilitating multi-stakeholder collaborations at the community level to educate consumers, and improve quality and efficiency of the health delivery system. Purchasers interested in having their plans report performance in a variety of health services can contact NBCH or their local business coalition.
About National Business Coalition on Health
National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH) is a national nonprofit membership organization of purchaser-led health care coalitions, representing more than 4,000 employers and about 35 million employees and dependents. NBCH and its members are dedicated to value-based purchasing of health care services through the collective action of public and private purchasers. NBCH seeks to accelerate the nation’s progress toward safe, efficient, high-quality health care and the improved health status of the American population.
NBCH’s 19th Annual Conference will be held November 10-12, 2014 in Washington. Additional details and registration information can be found here: http://www.nbch.org/2014-Annual-Conference.
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