HealthbyChoice Achievements lowers health care costs by improving employee health and productivity
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Priority Health is offering employers a new health plan, titled HealthbyChoice AchievementsSM, designed to lower employer costs by driving healthier outcomes for their employees. Offered with either an HMO, POS or PPO plan, employers can see anywhere from 4 – 14 percent savings in their premium, depending on their plan design.
“HealthbyChoice Achievements raises the bar when it comes to encouraging employees to improve their health,” said Kimberly K. Horn, president and CEO. “It combines a health plan and an outcomes-driven incentive program to help lower employer costs and improve employee health and productivity.”
A Priority Health clinical team created the plan to be outcomes-driven and motivate employees and their spouses to make healthy lifestyle changes. The new plan begins by offering a standard benefit level to every employee. Then employees can “earn” lower out-of-pocket costs by achieving the criteria of a healthy life style. This starts with the completion of a health risk assessment and a preventive care visit to their doctor to assess cholesterol levels, blood sugar, BMI and tobacco use.
Participants who are identified as being outside of healthy guidelines have the opportunity to use free, personalized health coaching to meet goals set by their physician. Once they achieve their goals, they earn lower out-of-pocket costs. Behavioral psychologist studies have shown that providing positive incentives of lower costs for achieving goals has a greater impact on behavior than negative incentives. Priority Health’s approach in this regard is unique in the Michigan market.
“We have a long history of offering prevention and wellness programs that work,” added Horn. “This program capitalizes on this experience and furthers our commitment to create innovative solutions that lower employer’s health care costs while improving the quality of care and delivering an exceptional customer experience.”
Priority Health’s approach to prevention and wellness has positioned the company as an industry leader in keeping members healthy by preventing illness, managing chronic conditions and ultimately reducing costs. Priority Health’s approach has a proven record of results, including:
- Priority Health is among the best health plans nationally for ensuring patients receive screenings for both cervical (86% versus 77%), colorectal (77% versus 61%) and breast cancer (83% versus 71%).
- Priority Health has lower hospital readmission rates, at 6.94% compared to the 18.6% readmission rate for traditional Medicare, putting the health plan amongst the top health plans performers for the Medicare population nationwide.
- Priority Health’s chronic condition programs helped to avoid an average of $423 a year in health care costs for every person participating.
To learn more about Priority Health’s experience and approach to prevention and wellness or its product portfolio, visit priorityhealth.com.
About Priority Health:
Priority Health is an award-winning health plan nationally recognized for creating innovative solutions that impact health care costs while maximizing customer experience. It offers a broad portfolio of products for employer groups, individuals, and Medicare and Medicaid. As a nonprofit company, Priority Health serves more than 600,000 people and continues to be rated as one of America’s Best Health Plans by U.S. News & World Report and the National Committee for Quality Assurance. For more information about Priority Health, visit priorityhealth.com.
CONTACT:
Priority Health
Amy Miller, 616-464-8571 or 800-942-0954
KEYWORDS: United States North America Michigan
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Health Fitness & Nutrition Hospitals Other Health Professional Services Insurance General Health
MEDIA:
| Logo |