Employers Attack Health Care Costs -- and Find Success

[sweeps]

More employers are
-- Encouraging participation in HDHP/HSA plans
-- Offering free drugs and supplies for chronic diseases to prevent relapses
-- Paying the full amount of common preventative services
-- Sending the sickest 20% of employees to the top 20% rated physicians
-- Increasing financial penalties for employees to don't proactively manage their health
-- Offering on-site clinics at low- or no-cost to employees

Link

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Well this part certainly tips off a lot of questions:

Sending the sickest employees to the best doctors is gaining as a strategy among employers. Dubbed by some as a 20-20 approach, employers and their health plans are using data to identify physicians rated in the top 20% for effective treatments and matching them up with the 20% of employees who most need care. Employers provide financial incentives, such as lower copayments, to workers to use the top providers. Eventually, firms will try predictive modeling to identify who will be the sickest 20% so steps can be taken today to "get ahead of the curve," says Tracy Watts of Mercer Consulting.