Employers

Based on US health insurance consumer behavior reported in the eHealth Insights: 2020 Retrospective report, notable trends of the past year to watch for in 2021 include the popularity of $0 premium Medicare Advantage plans, the rise of telemedicine, and potential hesitancy against taking a vaccine for coronavirus disease 2019.

The top 5 most-read employer stories of 2020 on AJMC.com focused primarily on the role of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on several issues affecting the workplace, including adverse mental health outcomes, leave-related concerns, and the rise of virtual care.

In an interview with Evidence-Based Oncology™, City of Hope's Harlan Levine discussed the rising interest of employers in cancer care and how AccessHope can help them deliver better care where their employees live.

The Migraine Impact Model is an interactive calculator that estimates migraine prevalence within a workforce and the associated economic burden of migraine on the employer.

Bill Kramer, MBA, is the executive director for National Health Policy at Pacific Business Group on Health.

A survey by Willis Towers Watson finds significantly increased use and noted satisfaction in virtual care among the US workforce amid the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

A report by PwC discusses the health care agenda of President-elect Joe Biden, particularly how his term will shape the future of the Affordable Care Act, value-based care, and drug prices.

A recent survey of employers revealed a current a shift in organizations working to adopt lower-cost, value-based health care models.

Lalan Wilfong, MD, executive vice president for quality programs and value-based care at Texas Oncology and Community Oncology Alliance payment reform co-chair, discusses the role of employers in cancer care benefits and issues stemming from the pandemic.

A panel of key opinion leaders discuss how employers and self-funded companies should assess provider quality and value in cancer care at the 2020 Community Oncology Alliance Virtual Payer Exchange Summit.

Michael Abrams, MA, is the co-founder and managing partner of Numerof & Associates, a firm that helps businesses across the health care sector define and implement strategies for winning in dynamic markets.

Health care organizations can help spur growth among physicians through incorporating key experiences, such as out-of-expertise skill building and cross-functional projects, in their physician leadership development programs.

To address rising prices of private health insurance, employers are considering several strategies, including narrow networks and decreased reliance on intermediaries.

As the pandemic contributed to a significant decrease in the use of health care services in 2020, an analysis finds that employer health care benefit costs will likely increase in 2021 to address this deferral in care.

Family premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose 4% over the past year, averaging $21,342, according to Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) study findings, with workers contributing $5588 in out-of-pocket costs.

As employers seek to gain a pulse of what the health care benefit cost trend will be for the coming year, the Business Group on Health will be monitoring several factors, including the impact of the pandemic, efficacy of virtual care, and deferral in care delivery.

In working directly with employers on their purchasing strategies amid the COVID-19 pandemic, notable concerns include independent primary care, consolidation, and quality of care.

Amid disruption precipitated by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a survey by the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions shows employers are maintaining or accelerating their health benefit strategies for 2021 and 2022.

This article was written by Maureen Hennessey, PhD, CPCC, CPHQ, senior vice president and director of Value Transformation for PRECISIONvalue.

Based on findings of the Business Group on Health’s 2021 Large Employers' Health Care Strategy and Plan Design Survey, employers have increased funding in virtual care and behavioral health amid the coronavirus disease pandemic.

Jason Shafrin, PhD, serves as the vice president of Health Economics at PRECISIONheor, and Meena Venkatachalam, MSc, is the senior director of Health Economics at PRECISIONheor.

A cost-saving provision made possible by the recent COVID-19 relief CARES Act now allows Americans to leverage pre-tax funds from their flexible spending arrangements [FSAs] or health savings accounts [HSAs] to purchase over-the-counter medicines and menstrual care products.

Karen Kobelski is the vice president and general manager of clinical surveillance, compliance & data solutions at Wolters Kluwer. She brings more than 25 years of experience to her position, which expands her previous leadership role over the Safety & Surveillance group to also include the Health Language portfolio of data normalization solutions.

Expanding traditional value frameworks to include inequality and factors that contribute to this is the first step to addressing disparities in health outcomes. Utilizing multi-criteria decision analysis and distributional cost effect analysis can assist in deriving data and subsequently acting on these issues.

When 40th Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH) Annual Conference meets this week, stakeholder groups will tackle issues within population health and precision medicine, and discuss the influence of employers on these discussions.