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Innovations in Employer-Sponsored Insurance Promoting a Healthy Workforce

The Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, chaired by Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN), held a hearing this week to discuss innovations employers are implementing to control costs and provide higher quality coverage to their employees. The hearing is part of the ongoing work by the Task Force on Health Care Reform to develop responsible reforms that will expand affordable coverage and lead to a more patient-centered health care system.

“Employers have played a critical role in driving health care innovation,” Chairman Roe said. “Despite unprecedented uncertainty in the health insurance market and drastic changes in employer-sponsored coverage, employers of all sizes are still developing creative strategies to help control costs and meet the changing needs of the workforce.”

Witnesses highlighted the positive role employers can play in fostering a healthy workforce and responding to the rising costs of health care.

“Many employers, both on their own and in concert with other local purchasers, are engaged in innovative efforts to push back against high and rising health care prices, while not sacrificing the quality of care provided to their employees,” said Sabrina Corlette, research professor and project director for the Center on Health Insurance Reforms.

Amy McDonough, vice president and general manager of Corporate Wellness at Fitbit, works with employers to improve employee health through employer-based wellness programs.

“Employers are uniquely positioned to improve population health in the workplace by fostering wellness initiatives that are inclusive, fun, voluntary, and protect the privacy of the people they aim to serve,” she said. “When workplaces make the healthy choice the easy choice, health outcomes can be even more profound.”

McDonough went on to express concerns about government regulations that make it more difficult for employers to adopt these wellness programs.

“Unfortunately, the regulations governing wellness programs are not always clear and this confusion has left some employers on the sidelines,” she said. “We at Fitbit are supportive of efforts to clarify and streamline the applicable laws and regulations that govern the structure of wellness programs.”

In addition to popular wellness plans, witnesses discussed other ways employers can improve health insurance options for their employees. John Zern, an expert on healthcare benefits and innovation, weighed in on the benefits of developing private health exchanges.

“Employers are evaluating better solutions that empower consumers with more choices in their health plan and benefit offerings. A private health exchange is a competitive, retail-based, web-enabled marketplace offering employer-sponsored group coverage,” Zern said.

Tresia Franklin, director of Rewards and Employee Relations at Hallmark cards, agreed with Zern saying, “We believe the private exchange model provides employers an innovative and effective model for meeting the health care needs of their workforce.”

Encouraging innovations in employer-sponsored health insurance is an important part of congressional efforts to develop commonsense reforms that will help expand access to affordable health care coverage.

“We want to encourage innovation and harness the power of new technologies in order to foster lower prices and better treatment for patients,” Chairman Roe said. “I hope our conversation today will bring us one step closer to achieving the responsible reforms the American people desperately need.

 

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