If you’re a US employer providing health care benefits to your employees, there’s no sitting still anymore or sitting on the sidelines and accepting whatever comes next. Even in the midst of possibly historic health care reform, insurance premiums continue to rise and take a far greater chunk out of a company’s bottom line; employees are being asked to pay more out of pocket, too.

 

In this environment, employers have become a lot smarter about what they’re purchasing. They’re paying more attention than ever to issues of quality and patient safety, and the degree to which health plans focus on wellness and primary care. In some instances, such as at QuadMed, employers are seizing the reins and building the type of integrated health care delivery system they believe should serve as a model for society as a whole. That’s what Dr. Raymond Zastrow describes on this WIHI, joined by Helen Darling in a timely discussion of the more sophisticated role they believe companies must play in reforming health care. What sorts of incentives can employers offer employees to improve their health without being punitive?