Have you considered value-based health care?

Have you heard about value-based health care? Count on hearing a lot more about this innovative approach to providing health care to your employees. Value-based insurance plans are designed to increase health care quality and lower costs by using financial incentives to promote cost-efficient health care services and healthy consumer choices.

Think of the value-based concept as a proactive approach to providing better and more efficient care rather than simply reacting to costly health problems. These types of plans encourage the adoption of healthy lifestyles, such as smoking cessation and/or increased physical activity.

Employee wellness is a big component of value-based health insurance. These types of plans also cover preventive care, wellness visits and treatments such as medications to control blood pressure or diabetes at low or even no cost. Medicare is encouraging the move to value-based care.

A focus on wellness and no- or low-cost doctor visits and treatments to control chronic health issues has been shown to lower total health care costs because of fewer surgeries, hospital stays and emergency department visits. Healthier people miss fewer days of work and school because of illness and often have higher levels of satisfaction with their health care and with their employer. Isn’t that something every engineering firm wants?