http://knowsource.com/2012/05/corporate-wellness/ http://knowsource.com/2012/05/corporate-wellness/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 20:44:22 +0000 John Santilli http://knowsource.com/?p=1031

Corporate wellness programs are a proven way for companies to not only save money, but improve the productivity of their workers and increase overall employee satisfaction.

Small and mid-sized employers can now offer comprehensive and customizable company wellness programs for their employees at little or no cost due to the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).

One of the key features of the Healthcare Reform allows for certain preventive health screenings to be 100% covered under company wellness programs with no employee copayment. Additionally, employers with less than 100 employees may be eligible for wellness grant funding pending appropriations.

The Corporate Wellness market remains extremely fragmented with numerous companies offering some type of wellness service. However, there are very few large companies in this growing market.

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PSS World Medical, Inc. began operations in 1983. The Company is a national distributor of medical products and equipment, pharmaceutical products, healthcare information technology, physician dispensing solutions, and billing services to alternate-site healthcare providers including physician offices, long-term care and assisted living facilities, home health care and hospice providers.

PSS World Medical’s objective is to be the leading distributor and marketer of medical products and services to select medical market segments in the United States of America, with a goal to grow revenues at twice the market growth rate in the markets it serves. The key components of the Company’s strategy include:

Grow sales through innovative, differentiated marketing programs, innovative products, services, and new customer acquisitions.
Optimize the Company’s product offering and profitability.
Simplify and improve business activities leveraging existing distribution and shared service capabilities.
Identify, develop and retain leaders capable of managing a growing corporation.
Be the employer of choice within the industry.
Make strategic acquisitions.

PSS World Medical recently announced a strategic restructuring plan designed to transform the company, focusing its efforts and investments on physician, laboratory, in-office dispensing, and the home care and hospice markets, which are the fastest growing segments of non-acute, alternate site healthcare in the US.

In connection with the restructuring, the company plans to acquire three companies: InfoLab (Clarksdale, MS), Prolabs (Warren, OH) and Physician Partners. The acquisitions are expected to be accretive in FY 2013 and add annual revenues of approximately $120 million.

PSS World Medical also plans to divest its skilled nursing business and a specialty dental business. The plan will also include the integration of PSS’ warehouse operations into one common distribution infrastructure, as well as a redesign of its shared service and field support functions. These efforts are expected to significantly reduce operating costs while streamlining decision making and improving service.

Additional information available

A team of pharmacy industry professionals who understand the challenges of Independent Pharmacy throughout the country created PharmacyGPO Inc.

The company’s business model was specifically created to maximize the operational dollars spent by privately owned small business pharmacies and force more output from your investments & monthly expenses.

PharmacyGPO believes traditional drug distribution and wholesaler practices are out of date and the next evolution in pharmacy distribution is embedded into a program that creates new business for our customers.

PharmacyGPO believes in gross profit optimization (GPO). Intense price competition inside the drug wholesale industry creates opportunity. Winning new pharmacy customers strictly based on price eventually leads to decreased profits for the dispensing pharmacy.

Higher operational costs and lack of business development services, more sophisticated customers and less predictability all require a new approach to sustained profitability.

PharmacyGPO utilizes a suite of road-tested Pricing and Profit Optimization technologies that can help clients optimize profitability by building, implementing, and sustaining advanced capabilities in four areas: pricing strategy, analytics, price-setting, and execution.

PharmacyGPO signed a three-year prime vendor contract with HD Smith to be its exclusive supplier of a full line of products including pharmaceuticals, health and wellness products and durable medical equipment.

PharmacyGPO is seeking to expand its presence in community retail pharmacies and privately owned, long-term care facilities nationwide.

Additional information available

MedAssets comprehensive financial performance solutions include industry-leading solutions for healthcare supply chain management and healthcare revenue cycle management.

MedAssets’ priorities include: focus on operational execution; continue investing in product development and innovation for future growth; and remain disciplined in its cash flow deployment to de-lever our balance sheet.

MedAssets’ Spend and Clinical Resource Management segment continues to onboard new clients and implement additional cost management and performance improvement solutions with current clients. Over the last 16 months MedAssets has won nearly 40 competitive GPO deals, including several year-to-date.

Colorado Springs-based Memorial Health is one of several health systems in the mountain states region to recently choose MedAssets for supply chain services.

Memorial’s full implementation process to the MedAssets GPO, outsourcing, clinical consulting and technology-enabled services was completed in less than 60 days, enabling the health system to quickly improve performance and cost savings.

MedAssets also announced that Benefis Health System, a 516-bed health system located in Great Falls, MT, has signed an agreement to use MedAssets Spend and Clinical Resource Management Solutions to achieve rapid and significant cost savings across its supply chain operations.

The agreement calls for Benefis to initiate use of the company’s Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) and other cost containment services, including its Clinical Cost Management services for resource utilization of medical device or physician preference items (PPI).

Additional information available

Highmark Inc.’s Integrated Delivery System was launched in June 2011. Its first action was to negotiate an affiliation agreement with the West Penn Allegheny Health System, which is currently being reviewed.

Highmark’s delivery system has several core components: to have a patient–centric and physician–led system with high levels of patient engagement; to deliver high–quality services to those in need of care; to align incentives and focus more resources on wellness and prevention; to focus on providing care in the most convenient and economical setting; to base the system on innovative research and advanced academics.

Highmark plans to create a vibrant network for independent community hospitals; an aligned network of physicians, both primary care and specialists; broader choice in health service; and more convenient access to innovative outpatient services.

John Paul, UPMC’s former executive vice president and CFO is heading up the company’s Integrated Delivery Systems, which is the new health provider unit that governs the West Penn Allegheny Health System.

Mr. Paul has spent the last year assembling a team to take on his former employer, as Highmark seeks to build its health provider division. Among those now on the team is his former UPMC colleague, Patricia Liebman, who, as of January, is an executive vice president within Mr. Paul’s Integrated Delivery Systems division. Until October 2003, she was the president of UPMC Health Plan.

Part of Highmark’s new Integrated Delivery System, ProtoCo, a new supply chain services organization to help hospitals reduce costs and achieve higher standards of patient care opened for business on April 9, and on April 30 it drew the interest of more than 350 vendor representatives from across the country at a vendor kickoff. The company launched with 50 employees in Pittsburgh and is expected to grow to 80 by the end of 2012.

A collection of three distinct companies, ProtoCo has secured multiple hospital contracts. It will manage the supply chain and handle purchasing for the West Penn Allegheny Health System, which annually spends approximately $480 million. ProtoCo expects to achieve savings for the health system of more than $100 million during the next five years.

In addition, ProtoCo has finalized contracts with Saint Vincent Health Center in Erie, Pa., and the West Virginia United Health System, comprised of five hospitals located throughout West Virginia. Other contracts are under negotiation.

“ProtoCo is a model of progress in health care procurement,” said John Paul, who leads Highmark’s Integrated Delivery System. “Through ProtoCo, physicians will partner on key decisions. They’ll determine procurement and protocols related to medical items, for example, and those protocols will be tracked via clinical decision support systems, leading to a high level of physician engagement and a consistently high standard of care for patients.”

Highmark also announced recently that Orthopedic Associates of Pittsburgh (OAPGH), a leading orthopedic group in Western Pennsylvania, has chosen to affiliate with its growing Integrated Delivery System.

Additional information available

Aetna has differentiated itself in the area of provided collaboration by commercializing the concept of accountable care organizations and formed a new business unit called Accountable Care Solutions.

Aetna has signed 9 ACS contracts and has 16 letters of intent with over 180 leads in the pipeline. These partnerships are strengthening Aetna’s position in local markets and catalyzing growth in its core business.

Aetna’s ACS contracts include:

Banner Health Network in Arizona and the introduction of Aetna Whole HealthSM, a new commercial health care product that provides members access to highly coordinated care from physicians and facilities in the Banner Health Network.

Sharp Community Medical Group (SCMG) to deliver more coordinated and personalized medical care to Aetna members in the San Diego market.

Carilion Clinic to launch a suite of new health benefit plans – called Aetna Whole Health(TM) – now available to Virginia employers with two to 100 eligible employees. Aetna Whole Health plans create a unique opportunity for Roanoke-area businesses to help their employees optimize their health and get healthier faster.

Genesis HealthCare which may be setting the model for ACOs in long-term care. The program is part of a strategy to reduce re-admissions to hospitals, a costly proposition for insurers, long-term care and hospital providers.

Additional Information Available

A subsidiary of H. D. Smith, focused on specialty pharmaceutical distribution and services, Smith Medical Partners (SMP) is equipped to supply a full range of practices with both broad and limited specialty products.

Licensed in all 50 states, SMP combines national reach with accessible service and features a full line of brand pharmaceuticals, injectables, vaccines and a highly competitive generics portfolio.


H. D. Smith recently announced the deal with Cardium that it expects to be a model for future business for its recently formed specialty subsidiary, Smith Medical Partners (SMP).

SMP will provide exclusive distribution and cold-chain logistics services for Excellagen (formulated bovine collagen), a wound care product approved for the management of diabetic foot ulcers and other dermal wounds. Cardium (San Diego) won approval from FDA late last year for the product, as a 510(k) medical device.

SMP also recently introduced Baxter’s hemophilia products: Advate, Recombinate and Hemofil as the newest factor available through Smith Medical Partners.

Smith Medical Partners has national distribution capabilities and provides the following services:

National distribution
Customized delivery and shipping
Product warehousing and logistics
Customer screening and registry
Cold chain distribution

Specialty practices SMP services include:
Dermatology
Gastroenterology
Neurology
OB-GYN
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Primary Care & Internal Medicine
Surgery
Rheumatology
Urology

Additional information available

Health Insurers are increasingly positioning themselves as a health solutions or health services company that engages customers to a greater extent in their health and well-being.

Health Insurers increasingly will need to establish a brand identity to recruit customers and retain them — as a greater number of consumers gain more choice in selecting a health plan through a public or private health exchange by 2014.

The insurers that are in the forefront of this change include:

Aetna unveiled a refreshed brand promise as the company continues its evolution from an insurance carrier to a health solutions company.

The most visible element of Aetna’s refreshed brand is a vibrant new look and logo – reflecting Aetna’s new vision to the marketplace. Far beyond a look or logo, the revitalization of the brand is focused on driving increased consumer engagement in their health care and empowering people to live healthier lives.

Aetna is reframing its offerings into four benefit-focused categories that connect people to:

•Quality health plans and benefits: plans, products, networks, services, programs and tools that promote individual, family and employee health.

•Healthier living: wellness information, resources and support to help individuals, families and communities thrive.

•Financial well-being: plans, products, services, programs and tools that help people manage their health care spending and deliver financial peace of mind.

•Intelligent solutions: insights and expertise that enhance productivity or business results.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, Inc. (BCBSF) is now Florida Blue. The new name, new logo and tagline – ‘In the pursuit of health’ – are all part of the company’s transition to a health solutions company with an overarching mission to help the people of Florida and their communities achieve better health.

The brand transition reflects a host of initiatives inspired by Florida Blue’s expanded mission, including: a focus on affordable products; the introduction of new health plans and services; the personalization of health care services and customer support through the company’s unique Florida Blue retail centers; an expanding suite of online tools to empower healthcare consumers and even stronger state-wide outreach to support Florida communities in their quest for better health.

All of these programs and services support the company’s commitment to providing accessible and affordable health solutions to all Floridians.

Introducing the new Florida Blue name marks a new era for the company – moving from a one-dimensional business model focused primarily on health insurance to a multi-dimensional health solutions company with a more comprehensive approach to health.

Cigna recently announced a national brand campaign that reflects an innovative approach to meeting the evolving health and well-being needs of consumers.

With the theme “GO YOU,” CIGNA launches its largest advertising campaign, supporting the company’s focus on delivering easy-to-use programs and providing distinctive customer service.

The customer-centric business model and associated “GO YOU” campaign encourages customers to embrace and nurture what it is that makes each of us one-of-a-kind; it’s time to celebrate your true self.

The company also has updated its logo to more directly reflect its focus on individual customers.

Cigna already has put into place 24/7/365 worldwide customer service, mobile applications that locate the nearest pharmacies and emergency rooms and decision-support tools that compare quality and medical costs.

Customers have broad access to health coaches for chronic conditions like diabetes as well as programs to support healthy lifestyles.

The company will engage customers through a new www.cigna.com website as well as social media channels. As part of the range of options for consumers, CIGNA is accelerating the expansion of its proven accountable care organizations and other partnership models with physicians and hospitals, all seeking to achieve quality, choice and affordability.

Additional information available

An emerging network of Western New York physicians committed to providing quality care have partnered with BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York and Kaleida Health to create a new, physician-led healthcare organization that will provide tailored network health benefit offerings.

Utilizing the Kaleida Health and physician network – supported by sophisticated information systems and technology – ensures patients get the right care, in the right place, at the right time.

The new partnership is the first of its kind for this region – bringing all three elements of the healthcare delivery system together: physicians, hospitals and a health plan. It is being designed to enhance the ability of physicians to provide patient-centered care, with less administrative burden, supported by the region’s largest health system and insurer.

This is a strategic partnership between providers, including community physicians and a significant health plan that will assure accountability for both the clinical outcomes of the patients and the costs of the care delivery model. It seeks to be responsible for care coordination, quality of care and the long term financial viability of the care offered.

This unique model will be offered directly to employers as an alternative to today’s traditional health benefits model. This model aligns the interests of physicians, providers, payers, employers and patients. If the collective parties continue to follow the existing model, the community will not see new or better results.

Kaleida Health is also working with BlueCross officials to assist a physician leadership council to develop a strong clinically integrated physician network. The regional network will also include, as active participants, Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) and Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), Olean General Hospital (OGH), and the Center for Hospice and Palliative Care, along with their affiliated physicians.

Consumers who participate in this health plan will have access to the comprehensive Kaleida-based system including its brand new Gates Vascular Institute, Buffalo General Medical Center, Women & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo, Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, DeGraff Memorial Hospital, the Visiting Nursing Association, plus other Kaleida Health partners across Western New York.

Collectively, Kaleida Health and BCBS serve a significant portion of the region’s healthcare needs both clinically and as the insurance company for over 600,000 members across Western New York.

Additional information on Integrated Health Systems available

Humana Pharmacy Solutions (HPS) manages traditional pharmacy benefits with member-focused strategies to yield savings in pharmacy and total health expense. Providing prescription coverage for both individuals and employer groups, Humana Pharmacy Solutions strives to give members access to the medicine they need while offering guidance on clinically proven, therapeutically equivalent drugs that bring better value to the member and the customer.

HPS is offering employers a new Rx4Value formulary and Walmart Rx Network that together guarantee up to 20 percent savings on employers’ average prescription price.

The new options extend HPS’s signature Average Script Price Guarantee, which guarantees the average prescription cost a self-insured employer will pay across all of its annual in-network prescriptions. Both new pharmacy benefits options are available now to self-insured employers.

The Walmart Rx Network option is expected to be available to fully-insured employers later this year. The new Walmart Rx Network will allow employers to select a Walmart-focused network for their employees to fill their prescriptions.

The new Rx4Value formulary provides comprehensive therapeutic coverage while saving self-insured employers an average of 15 percent on their members’ annual average prescription price. Both options are available individually and can be combined for compounded savings.

The network includes the more than 4,400 pharmacies under the Walmart, Neighborhood Market, Sam’s Club, Walmart Express and Walmart on Campus banners, as well as Humana’s RightSource mail order pharmacy. The network is available today for self-insured employers, and is expected to be available to fully-insured employers later this year.

Walmart joined with Humana Pharmacy Solutions in 2010 to introduce a national Medicare drug plan with a ow monthly premium of just $14.80 plus low copays and cost-shares.

Additional information available