Despite signs of cost trend moderation, employers remain critically concerned with the business impact of escalating healthcare costs and are looking beyond cost shifting to attack the root causes of rising costs, according to a new study from
global human resources services firm Hewitt Associates.
Hewitt's survey of more than 500 major U.S. employers covering more than 6 million employees and family members finds that
companies anticipate a cost increase of 12 percent for 2005, but can only afford a maximum 8 percent increase.
"Increasingly, companies are recognizing that incremental changes are insufficient to attack the healthcare cost crisis, so
they are moving beyond the more common methods for controlling costs to create more sustained and systematic changes," said
Jack Bruner, national healthcare practice leader, Hewitt Associates. "Employers are looking to tackle the root causes of
inflation through consumer-driven plans, employee education, influencing positive employee behavior changes through condition
management and wellness programs, and improving the amount and quality of data available on healthcare costs and quality."
During "Controlling Healthcare Costs in 2005," a 90-minute audio conference on CD-ROM, you learn how healthcare
organizations are approaching cost control issues from prescription drugs to consumer-driven healthcare options to disease
management.
Your expert panel of speakers, Bridget Eber, PharmD, Practice Leader, Pharmacy and Consumer Driven Health Strategy at Hewitt
Associates, Terrance Killilea, PharmD, Assistant Vice President of Pharmacy Services at Regence Blue Shield of Idaho,
and Mary Bryngelson, Regional Vice President of American Healthways, discuss how approaching these three areas of healthcare can lead to moderation in cost increases, including:
- Prescription Drugs:
- The key drivers of prescription costs;
- Cost facts
- Demographic factors
- Utilization factors
- Increasing prescription drug costs; they are avoidable;
- Market factors that conflict with objective therapeutic assessment of drugs;
- Each major therapeutic class has a generic drug as "best in therapy";
- Application of true evidence-based analysis reduces use of new drugs with unproven value
- Effective programs to control prescription costs;
- Benefit design to control prescription costs
- Over-the-counter drug opportunities
- Benefit design to assure adequate cost-sharing
- Motivating providers and members
- Controlling the pricing of pharmaceuticals
- The future of consumer-driven pharmacy programs.
- Education, education, education
- Integration of prescription copayments with medical benefits
- Consumer-Driven Healthcare:
- Plan design;
- Increasing adoption of consumer-driven solutions through decision support applications;
- The role of technology in consumer-driven healthcare;
- HSA integration; and
- Participation/engagement of the members in the process.
- Disease Management:
- Plan design;
- Identifying and preventing high-risk individuals;
- Patient compliance;
- ROI methodology and results; and
- Structuring incentives.
You can "attend" this program right in your office and enjoy significant savings – no travel time or hassle; no hotel
expenses. It’s so convenient! Invite your staff members to listen to the CD-ROM.
WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS AUDIO CONFERENCE?
CEOs, medical directors, disease management directors, managers and coordinators, health plan executives, care management
nurses, business development and strategic planning directors.
About your Panelist:
Mary P. Bryngelson, Regional Vice President
Mary P. Bryngelson is the Regional Vice President of Operations for American Healthways, a provider of specialized, comprehensive care and disease management services to health plans, physicians and hospitals. She is responsible for account management activities at BlueCross BlueShield of Minnesota. Bryngelson joined American Healthways in March of 2003.
Prior to joining American Healthways, Bryngelson was Vice President of Products and Evaluation at Prime Therapeutics, Inc., a pharmacy benefit management company where she provided leadership for facilitating product development processes and measurement and analytical services. As Vice President of icanPREVENT, Bryngelson also worked for ican, INC., an infection control web-based product.
At United HealthGroup Bryngelson was the Vice President of Operations, responsible for the operations of a telephonic utilization management company. She provided overall leadership for 450 employees and managed a budget of $50 million. In the late 1980’s Bryngelson worked for Aetna on the CHAMPUS Reform Initiative in Southern California.
Bryngelson holds a Ph.D. in higher education from the Florida State University and a Master’s degree in statistics and research and a Bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of North Dakota.
Dr. Terrance Killilea, Assistant Vice President
Dr. Terrance Killilea is currently the Assistant Vice President, Pharmacy Services for The Regence Group. He holds the responsibility for developing and managing formulary rebate contracting for the entire Regence Group and provides steerage for the clinical management of the multi-state health plan. In addition, he directly manages pharmacy services for the states of Utah and Idaho. His area of development is data management systems and provider reporting.
Prior to this position, Dr. Killilea was the Senior Vice President, Chief Clinical Officer for five years with a large PBM.
Dr. Killilea holds a B.S. in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from the University of California, San Diego. He attended the UC San Francisco School of Pharmacy. After receiving his Pharm.D. in 1985, he completed a residency in clinical pharmacy at the Stanford University VA Medical Center. He received his board certification in pharmacotherapy in 1992.
Dr. Killilea has authored several articles in refereed scientific journals including Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Therapeutic Drug Monitoring, and Gerontology, as well as several textbook chapters. In addition, he has presented many research papers at refereed scientific meetings as well as clinical financial conferences. Recently, he has presented on the subject of effective prescription drug management and fiscal analysis of health plan performance.
Dr. Bridget L. Eber
Dr. Bridget L. Eber is a senior healthcare strategy consultant and thought leader in Hewitt’s Health Management Practice located at the firm’s headquarters in Lincolnshire, IL. Among Dr. Eber’s accomplishments include the development of Hewitt’s highly successful Pharmacy Practice. She currently leads Hewitt’s consumer-driven healthcare strategies.
Dr. Eber has delivered a number of presentations on integrating principles of pharmacy management and clinical management, and leveraging consumer empowerment and health management strategies. She has authored articles and has been quoted in several publications. She serves as an expert resource domestically and abroad to the investment community and health care industry groups.
Prior to joining Hewitt in 1997, Dr. Eber acquired 20 years of experience with positions in clinical pharmacy practice, administration, and associate professorships at the University of Illinois, Northwestern University, the Chicago Medical School, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Aetna Health Plans. Dr. Eber earned her B.S. and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees from the University of Illinois.
