Hospital-Employer Partnerships Create Affinity with Privately Insured Consumers

March 27, 2009 - PRLog -- Hospital-employer partnerships are instrumental in offsetting unreimbursed care and offering ways for employers to reduce health-related costs. A new “thought paper” just released by Aegis Health Group, “Workforce Health Management Programs Bring Bottom-Line Benefits,” explores the growing market demand for initiatives that enable hospitals to attract privately insured consumers while assisting employers with one of the greatest financial challenges they face today: rising health care costs.

“Hospitals and employers that work together in the name of health management discover an enormous value proposition,” said Henry Ross, chief executive officer of Aegis. “At no time has this been more relevant than it is in today’s challenging economic climate.”

The thought paper, the first in a series to be produced this year by Aegis, takes a data-driven approach to the bottom-line value for hospitals that proactively engage the business community through workplace health-management programs. It includes examples of hospital-sponsored programs launched in various parts of the country and explains how such programs benefit all three participants in the equation – hospitals, employers and employees.

   Worksite health-management initiatives have been shown to help employers cope with rising health care costs as America confronts such growing problems as obesity, diabetes, cancer and heart disease risk. By attending to these issues early on, employers repeatedly recognize significant dollar savings in employee health costs, absenteeism, health care premiums, workers’ compensation and other health care-related expenditures. At the same time, hospital partners increase their presence in the community and open the door to attracting commercially insured consumers, particularly important in today’s tough economic times. And, of course, employees benefit through improved health and greater awareness to healthy lifestyle habits.

“I encourage every hospital to stop lamenting the loss of revenue due to economic factors beyond their control and begin doing something positive and proactive that builds affinity with local, privately insured consumers,” said Ross. “Employer-directed health-management initiatives are not the wellness programs of the ‘80s and ‘90s; they are strategic, focused, and offer a solution that addresses the needs of everyone involved.”

The thought paper, “Workforce Health Management Programs Bring Bottom-Line Benefits,” is available free at aegisgroup.com.

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Aegis Health Group helps hospitals across the country form lasting relationships with area employers while improving the health of the workforce. Further information may be obtained at aegisgroup.com.