Event Recap: Employer Forum Navigating Health Care Value and Cost Management for Businesses

On June 23, the Detroit Regional Chamber and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan hosted an Employer Forum, which provided insights from Duston Pope, Director of Care Delivery Strategy at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, and Ronald Taylor, President and Chief Executive Officer at Detroit Area Agency on Aging. on health care value and cost management for employers, the aging workforce, and what that means for business.  

Health Care Value for PCPs  

Since COVID-19, the expectations from primary care physicians have changed dramatically, which causes many concerns when it comes to patients’ expectations of their healthcare providers’ overall performances. Due to a shortage in the healthcare industry, increasingly higher numbers of patients are squeezed into tight schedules, which can cause narrower care scopes. Plus, physician salaries are based on the number of patients, so visits can become transactional and do not incentivize positive outcomes.  

To combat this new, unfortunate reality, Pope provided information on how value partnerships can allow for higher-value health care with fewer costs.  

“By partnering with you and other providers and hospitals across Michigan, we share best practices to improve patient outcomes,” he said. “Value-based care focuses on the members and their needs and unlocks team-based care.”  

Why Value Partnerships? 

  1. It helps enhance the quality of care for all patient populations.
  2. By sharing best practices, there can be improvements in patient outcomes.
  3. Collaboration helps make health care more cost-effective.
  4. Quality improvement gets recognized through meaningful incentive programs.

 

To implement value partnerships in your care network, click here to visit the BCBSM Value Partnership homepage.  

Health Care Value for Caregivers 

Later in the discussion, Taylor took to the stage to provide tips regarding health care value for caregivers. During his presentation, Taylor said caregiving increased dramatically in price and in prevalence since the pandemic. The nation’s aging population continues to grow—with 56 million people 65 or older in the U.S. and 1.7 million of those are in Michigan.  

Unfortunately, that means more Americans have had to add part-time caregiving to their resumes. According to Taylor, 41.8 million Americans provided 23.7 hours per week of unpaid care to someone aged 50 or over in 2020. 

Therefore, there are plenty of opportunities for employers to provide adequate support to their caretaking employees, such as: 

  • Know your employees and listen to their needs. 
  • Start a Caregiver Affinity Group for feedback from caregivers. 
  • Provide updated resources for information and events. 
  • Advocate for your caregiving employees through organizational policies and more. 

The DAAA educates and provides respite training, resources, and advocacy opportunities for employers and individuals to positively impact caregivers throughout the Detroit Region. Click here for more information on how to start helping your employees. 

 

For future events, follow Wellness Works Detroit on Instagram and LinkedIn. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter to stay in the know.