I’m currently trying to highlight innovative arrangements between employers and health care organizations that reduce cost, make use of Centers of Excellence, and generally move health care in a better direction.
In early 2010, Lowes cut a deal with Cleveland Clinic for cardiac surgeries. Lowes pays a bundled rate that is lower than it would otherwise be. Employees or family members who need the surgery and choose Cleveland Clinic have their $500 co-pay waived – in other words, the surgery at Cleveland is “free” – and their airfare and local expenses in Cleveland are covered.
So far the program has been a success for Lowes, saving money and boosting employee morale. Cleveland Clinic obviously shines as well.
See the Lowes promo below.
Care And Cost 
Compelling news about a leading national employer. What we need is much more of this direct employer involvement in the intervention process that targets the elimination of the wholesale over-utilization waste and more waste. That’s why these employer primary care clinics are such a promising opportunity for employers to lead the way in the fight against relentlessly increasing costs, because the tremendous opportunity it presents is to have cognitive primary care docs on the front lines directing a management platform AND being the sharp-eyed spotters when these big outlier claims appear. These front-line docs will be able to intervene in the process that slows the process of bad becoming worse for many employees, and at the same time taking the ones who need the Cleveland Clinics and making sure the centers of excellence are delivering the best care anywhere. That’s why a meeting will take place in the Dallas area on February 17th, involving some of the Dallas area’s most innovative municipalities who took up the challenge to manage their healthcare with a comprehensive primary care clinic approach – good for the employees who love them, and good for the schools systems and municipalities that have tremendous returns on their investments