PWC Report on What Employers Want from Health Insurers

Price Waterhouse Coopers released a survey last week of what large and small group insurers want from health insurers which is available on their website. In short employers value technology and wellness but want better ways to engage employees and manage costs. Satisfaction from large employers dropped 5% from 2008 while satisfaction from small employers (surprisingly) held steady. Key recommendations include:

• Look beyond the provider discount strategy.
• Assist in the coordination of care.
• Educate the employer and employee about their health coverage.

In short, employers are looking for health insurers to take a much more active role in controlling costs. One way to show this would be to actively approach providers regarding episode based payment pilots. Episode based payments raise an incredible amount of issues but just sitting on the sidelines I don't think is an option. Health plans who have strong relationships with the provider community have an edge on this development because it will take an incredible amount of trust to successfully implement.