Perspectives on Policy
Provisions of the health care reform law--which begin to be implemented this year and continue through 2018--will transform the U.S. health care system. The changes will affect nearly every aspect of the insurance and delivery systems, including how employers buy care, what they get, how much it costs, and how it's taxed. Read more »
Case Studies
In the heart of Upper Manhattan, a small, nonprofit tutoring center—Operation Exodus Inner City—is bucking national trends by offering its four employees health benefits. This is not just a single take-it-or-leave-it plan, but a choice of 30 plans from five different organizations. The organization doesn't have a human resources staff, and there is no state mandate that requires Exodus to offer benefits of any kind. How is the rich menu of benefit options possible? Read more »
Featured Articles
According to experts interviewed by Purchasing High Performance, a fragmented health care system doesn't have to mean fragmented care. The experts, Jerry Burgess, CEO of Healthcare 21, and Chris McSwain, director of Global Benefits at Whirlpool Corporation, say there are five key things employers can do to help coordinate care from a diverse team of health care providers. Read more »
The next time an employee of Glatfelter paper company in Chillicothe, Ohio, needs to go to the doctor for a 30-minute visit to make sure she's responding well to a new medication, she can expect to be away from the office for about 38 minutes, including travel time. Glatfelter employees are among the 10 percent or so of American workers with access to an on-site health center. The full-service primary care health center is across the street from Glatfelter's production operations and its 1,400 employees. Convenience, however, is only one of several compelling reasons employees have to use it. Read more »
Interview
Managing Dow Chemical's corporate wellness and productivity management programs means coordinating activities for 40,000 employees across dozens of countries. But Dow is pushing ahead nonetheless with an aggressive effort to improve employee health, curb unhealthy behaviors, and increase productivity--an effort that already has produced results. Dow's Global Health Promotion Leader Dena Pflieger talks about the company's initiatives. Read more »
News Brief
Which state ranks first in health care quality? Which ranks last? And where do preventable medical errors rank as a cause of death in the U.S.? A statistical perspective on the U.S. health care system and how it's changed over time. Read more »
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