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February 5, 2009


New from the Business Group

New Wellness Impact Scorecard

The National Business Group on Health is pleased to introduce the new Wellness Impact Scorecard. This online member-only tool was developed to help members understand the impact of their employee wellness programs through:

 

  • Identifying the appropriate metrics to determine the impact of their wellness efforts
  • Tracking and reporting progress on key process and outcome measures
  • Recommending areas for new wellness program features or performance improvement
  • Benchmarking your program with peer companies over time

Please save the date on your calendars for a webinar on March 6, 2009 to introduce the Scorecard and its features

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Patient Safety - Join the Employer Trustee Network

Business Group member companies are invited to join the Employer Trustee Network. This new, virtual network is for any of your colleagues serving on hospital and health system boards - not just for those in HR/Medical/Benefits.

To increase employer awareness of this critical problem and, especially, to promote actions that employers can take to support the growing patient safety movement, the National Business Group on Health developed A Toolkit for Action—Ensuring Patient Safety Across Health Care, available electronically. To view a video which stresses the importance of patient safety to employers, please click here.

For more information about how to use this Toolkit or to become involved in the Employer Trustee Network, please contact patientsafety@businessgrouphealth.org.

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The Business Group Welcomes the Following New Members

Pearson

Pearson is an international media company with businesses in education, business information and consumer publishing. Brands include Pearson Education, Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group. The company has more than 30,000 employees based in 60 countries and is headquartered in London and New York.

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Buck Consultants

Buck Consultants is a global HR consulting firm that helps organizations develop, deploy, and manage their human capital. The company has nearly 2,000 employees throughout 80 global locations and is headquartered in New York. Buck Consultants was ranked #8 among the World's largest employee benefit consultants (Business Insurance (2007)).

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Hallmark Insights

Hallmark Insights offers personalized reward programs and specializes in business incentive solutions designed to create engaged employees and loyal consumers. The company is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN.

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Press Clippings

Business Group in the News

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Upcoming Networking and Solution Sharing Opportunities You Can't Afford to Miss

EMPAQ® 2009 Data Submission Webinar for Prospective and Current Users - Webinar

February 12, 2009  12:00 – 1:00 PM ET

EMPAQ® (Employer Measures of Productivity, Absence and Quality™), a set of standardized metrics and benchmarking tools helps employers to: 1) evaluate the effectiveness of their health and productivity management programs; and 2) compare performance to their plan, their peers and best-in-class employers.

As we face the worst economic conditions in 70 years, employers are recognizing the increasing importance of using data, comparative metrics and evidence to effectively manage employees, increase productivity and control costs.

Please join us in this webinar to learn about EMPAQ® metrics and tools, upcoming data submission and reporting timelines (data submission period opens on February 15th), and all 2009 metric and process enhancements. Whether you are a past or prospective participant, learn how to utilize this free member benefit.


Speakers:
Stacy Hodgins - Director, National Business Group on Health
Dee Edington, PhD (invited) – Director, University of Michigan Health Management Research Center
Amanda Cyr – Program Manager, University of Michigan Health Management Research Center
Jennifer Sponsler – Senior Analyst, National Business Group on Health


Please
click here to register for the webinar.

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Rebuilding our Primary Care Infrastructure: Part V - Road to Health Value - Webinar

February 20, 2009  12:00 – 1:00 PM ET

Hannaford Bros.’ strategy to pay providers for value and health outcomes rather than volume and procedures includes a patient-centered medical home pilot with major health carriers. This 5th webinar in our primary care series features Peter Hayes discussing progress, insights and lessons learned as Hannaford Bros. uses purchasing leverage to strengthen our primary care infrastructure and its ability to deliver health value.

Speakers:
Peter Hayes, Director of Associate Health & Wellness, Hannaford Bros.
Veronica Goff, Sr. Consultant, National Business Group on Health

Please click here to register for the webinar.



The recording and presentation from the last webinar in the series (Part IV: Taking Action on Primary Care Physician Payment, April 4, 2008) is available on our website.

To access the earlier webinars in the series, please contact meetings@businessgrouphealth.org.

Part I:   Why Employers Must Act, July 25, 2007
Part II: Physician Payment as Linchpin to Change, August 1, 2007
Part III: Piloting the Patient Centered Medical Home, October 4, 2007

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BHA Pre-conference Symposium on Consumer-Directed Health Care

Consumer-Directed Health Care: Success Stories From the Large Employers That Made it Happen

Pre-conference Symposium

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

12:00 – 4:00 p.m. ET

JW Marriot Hotel

Washington, DC

 

Hosted by the National Leadership Committee on Consumer-Directed Health Care and Consumerism (NLCCDHCC).

 

 

Have you plunged in feet first, or are you just sticking your toe in the “consumer-directed health care” water? Either way, this symposium is for you. Hear case studies from employers who have been there and back and are here to tell you about their journey! Confirmed speakers include:
 

  • Roger Chizek, Director, U.S. Benefits, Medtronic, Inc.
  • Beverly Miedema, Assistant Vice President Health & Welfare Strategy, Assurant, Inc.
  • Mike Stoll, Vice President, Corporate Benefits, The Kroger Company
  • Fred Williams, Director, Health Benefits Management, Quest Diagnostics Incorporated

 

By attending the symposium, you will also learn what drives your employees to make the decisions they do, and what you can do to encourage them to engage in their own health. 

Please click here to register for the pre-conference symposium.

 


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Network With Your Corporate Peers at Business Health Agenda 2009

March 11-13, 2009
JW Marriott Hotel, Washington DC

Join your colleagues at the premier corporate health benefits conference!


Network with your corporate colleagues from:

American Airlines, Inc.

Mars, Incorporated

Arizona Public Service Company

Michelin North America

BP America, Inc.

Microsoft Corporation

California HealthCare Foundation

Pearson

Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc.

PepsiCo, Inc.

Columbia University

Raytheon Company

Costco Wholesale Corporation

Shell Oil

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.

Southern California Schools VEBA Trust

Dell Inc.

Sprint Corporation

Delta Air Lines, Inc.

State Farm Insurance Companies

Dollar General Corporation

Target Corporation

Edward Jones

Teva Pharmaceuticals

FedEx
Fidelity Investments

The Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church

General Mills, Inc.

The Boeing Company

GTECH Corporation

The Dow Chemical Company

Harman International Industries, Inc.

The Kroger Co.

Honeywell

Time Warner

IBM Corporation

URS Corporation

Intel Corporation

U.S. Foodservice

Kellogg Company

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Liberty Mutual Insurance Group

Wells Fargo

Louisiana State University

Wendy's International, Inc.

Lowe's

 


At Business Health Agenda 2009 you will learn the latest in Leading Practices and Health Benefit Trends, Employee Wellness Practices, Controlling Costs, Employee Health Communications, Health Reform and Employer Sponsored Coverage, Health Coaches, Navigators and Other Employee Decision Support Tools, Convenience Care, Employee Activation and Health Care Consumerism, Value Purchasing and much more!


Questions? Please contact Businessgroup@meetingmgmt.com or 202-624-1763.

Please click here to register online and reserve your hotel room.

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Save the Date! 23rd National Conference on Health, Productivity, and Human Capital

The Business Group will be hosting its 23rd National Conference on Health, Productivity, and Human Capital from October 13-15, 2009 at the Philadelphia Downtown Marriott.  More details regarding sponsorships, exhibitor opportunities, and the call for presentations will be available in February 2009.

All 2008 National Conference presentations remain available online to our members and conference attendees. Simply enter your username and password to access the presentations online.  

For more information, please contact to Natashia McNair at nmcnair@businessgrouphealth.org or at 202-585-1838.

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Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles

Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles Award

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE 2009 APPLICATION.


The Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles
Awards acknowledge and reward those organizations that apply creative solutions to improving the health of employees. The Award program also serves as a channel for sharing and comparing successful interventions, programs and services.  

Please apply before the March 30, 2009 deadline!

Judges are needed! If you are not applying for an award and are an experienced corporate benefits professional, active or recently retired, please email us at healthyweight@businessgrouphealth.org.

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Publications and Tools from the Business Group

Controlling Health Care Costs: Wage-Based Health Plan Premiums - Top Solution

Discusses the value of varying health plan premiums by wage for all employees, especially the lower income, and presents case studies for three companies on strategy design and communication.

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The Value of Urgent Care Centers - Issue Brief

Defines the term, and examines the potential benefits and concerns involved with covering urgent care centers.  The potential benefits of coverage range from decreased cost to reduced wait times, and the areas of concern focus on fragmentation of care and quality.

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The Importance and Value of E-Visits - Issue Brief

Presents the benefits of e-visits for strengthening employee access, convenience and supplemental information exchanges with physicians, and provides reimbursement guidelines and plan carrier policies for employers.

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Minimize Your Workplace Stress - Tip Sheet

Stress can take an enormous toll on your health, well-being, and relationships. During these troubled financial times people report experiencing even more stress than usual. This tip discusses what employers can do to minimize stress in the workplace and links to helpful resources.

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Updated: Summary of Cost Analyses of Employment Based Care

Updated Summary of Cost Analyses of Employment Based Care to include the latest findings from leading benefits consulting firms and research organizations forecasting health care cost trend in the coming year. 

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New in Solutions Online

Plan Administration - Audits

Recently updated solution around Audits of your vendors to incorporate new estimates on the cost of health care fraud and tips employers should consider if they decide to undertake a medical or pharmaceutical audit in the near future.

To access the main Solutions Online page, please click here.

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EMPAQ®

EMPAQ® Data Submission

 

The EMPAQ® data submission period will open soon for 2008 plan year data. We invite you to participate in this free member benefit. Data submission is open from February 15 - April 15, 2009 for aggregate data and February 15 – March 30, 2009 for claims level data.

 

Please visit www.empaq.org on February 15th to submit data and to see the many new enhancements to EMPAQ® this year, including new tools and resources, access to claims level data submission, updates to our aggregate data submission tool, new metrics, and a more streamlined training process.

 

If you would like to learn more about EMPAQ®, please join the Business Group and our data partner, the University of Michigan Health Management Research Center, for a data submission webinar on February 12, 2009.  

 

If you have any questions or would like more information about EMPAQ®, please contact the Helpdesk at empaq@businessgrouphealth.org or visit www.empaq.org.

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Healthcare Policy

Child and Adolescent Health, Dependent Coverage, Health Care Reform & Uninsured

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Comparative Effectiveness, Health Care Costs & Health Care Reform

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Health Care Reform, Health Information Technology & HIPAA

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Health Care Costs, Patient Safety, Pay-For-Performance & Quality

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Benchmark with your Peers

Survey Report

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Global Solutions

GHBI Website Orientation Webinars

The Global Health Benefits Institute (GHBI) will sponsor two hour-long webinars for its members to orient them to the GHBI website and its web-based resources.

Here are the dates and times for the webinars:

  • Thursday, February 12 – 10 am ET
  • Tuesday, March 24 – 12 pm ET

If you would like to participate, please contact Tim McManus at (202) 585-1831 or at mcmanus@businessgrouphealth.org

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Participation in the Global Health Benefits Institute

If you would like more information about the Global Health Benefits Institute, please contact Jayne Lux at (202) 585-1818 or lux@businessgrouphealth.org.

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Other Opportunities

Quality Realized: Insights from America's Best Health Plans - Seminar

February 12, 2009
Arlington, VA

NCQA and U.S. News & World Report are hosting "Quality Realized: Insights from America's Best Health Plans".

Top national and regional plans will discuss how they create and sustain a focus on quality improvement in an ever-changing and competitive environment.

For more information and to register for this event, please click here.

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Weight of the Nation-Presentations needed!

The CDC is hosting its inaugural conference on obesity prevention and control, Weight of the Nation, and is currently seeking abstracts from employers (or vendors/partners who support employers) on obesity prevention and control at the worksite. Abstracts to present at the July 27-29 Weight of the Nation meeting at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC, may be submitted to CDC online between January 12 and February 14 at www.weightofthenation.org.

Weight of the Nation will provide a forum to highlight progress in the prevention and control of obesity through policy and environmental strategies and is framed around four intervention settings: community, medical care, school, and workplace, and will also highlight legal and economic strategies to prevent and control obesity. The sessions are targeted to an audience of elected and appointed policymakers and will focus on strategies that have led to policy and environmental changes which may improve population-level health. For more information please contact LuAnn Heinen who is chairing the Subcommittee on Workplaces for CDC’s Weight of the Nation initiative.

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Resource for Spanish-Speaking Patients

AHRQ's Superheroes Web site provides Spanish-speakers with:

  • Tips on ways to stay healthy and talking with their doctor,
  • Recommendations on preventive testing,
  • Help in understanding prescriptions,
  • A glossary of medical terms, and
  • Links to other resources that provide health information.

The Web site is part of a public service campaign that urges Hispanics to stay healthy for their loved ones by visiting their doctor for regular screenings. AHRQ developed this campaign with the Ad Council based on research on what messages Hispanics respond to. The Spanish-language campaign features everyday mothers and fathers whose children see them as superheroes and encourages Hispanic adults to be more involved in their health care, especially preventive care.

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If you need additional help with a password, Quick Survey, or any other service, please contact the Membership & Member Services Department.

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