The Memphis Business Group on Health (MBGH) is the bridge between providers, payors and employers to help strategize the healthcare benefit design of employees. With 20 members and affiliates and more than 40 organizations in Memphis and Tennessee, MBGH represents up to 400,000 covered lives. MBGH is also connected to 59 other businesses and coalitions nationwide.

 

CEO Cristie Travis has been in the healthcare industry for 30 years, working on both sides of the fence as a health planner and healthcare consultant. Her comprehensive experience has given Travis the perspective to confer on healthcare quality and delivery from both sides, providing her a unique position to help employers and payors work together for the advantage of employees.

 

One of the things I've learned a long time ago is we're all people. That sounds very basic, but I think we tend to wear our labels instead of remembering that. If we all remembered that we're people, first and foremost, I think probably we could design things that would work a lot more effectively than they do now.

 

One of the ways that I translate what goes on in the healthcare delivery system to my employee benefits professionals — I tap into their humanness. I ask them what they would want if they were a patient or if your mother, father, child was a patient. When you can communicate with people at that level, you can pull yourself back and say, "Don't I think my employees want the same thing?" 

 

Since we do have an employer-based insurance system, businesses play a huge role because they design the benefits and have the payment methodologies. A lot of times, businesses tend to forget how much influence they do have. They get wrapped up into health plans and doctors and hospitals. The reality of the situation is they need to use that influence in a positive way. Using that influence to create a culture of health to cover benefit designs, those things that help people stay healthy, to motivate their employees to use benefits wisely, I think they have a huge responsibility. 

To be honest, on the employer side, just about everything has been tried. Now it's coming down to basics. Instead of chasing the way to control costs, or once people get sick, help them not get sicker, we're saying to have people stay healthy from the very beginning. What we're doing with our members is strategically looking at what kind of tools you have as an employer that can help your employees stay healthier. 

 

Look inside your benefit design and be sure that the tools you are giving employees and families as benefits are things that will help them stay healthy as long as possible, and if they're sick, slow the progression of disease over time. That will make a healthier employee which makes a happier employee, more productive employee, and also in the long run, it probably ends up costing your health benefits plan less. We ensure that you cover prevention, early screenings, immunizations, those things. We also ask, "do you motivate people to go take advantage of what you're offering?"

 

Right now we pay for volume. We don't pay for outcomes. What a surprise we have a lot of volume. That's humanity. We're going to organize around a system, especially a payment system.

 

I do think there is some reformation and transformation needed. There are certain things that I think really need to happen at a national level. We can spend a lot of time and effort trying to figure out how to pay hospitals and doctors differently here in Memphis, but there are certain things that I think really need to happen at a national level. I do think there is some 'payment' reformation needed. 'Also,' I believe that there are certain standards of care that should be expected, regardless of where you live.Those standards are usually developed by the specialty societies, not purchasers. They are usually developed from within the healthcare delivery system. Having some national measures really gives us something to aim for if we're not quite there yet. It also gives us a way to benchmark ourselves across the country. From an operational standpoint, having standardized measures is important.

 

If a business is doing good vendor management, the employer should be holding that health plan accountable for achieving the results they looked for in the design. Because it's their money and they chose who provides the benefits to their employees, there's an accountability link. 

 

I think we need to be careful not to lose the benefits that come from employer involvement in health coverage for their employees. Employers have been able to be innovative. Especially if you're a national employer working across the entire country, you have more flexibility on your benefit design. That allows you to see what works and if it doesn't, make it better. 

 

I think that what I have been pleased about and one of the big changes I have seen in Memphis is the willingness to sit down and at least talk to each other. It's not to say they don't go back to their corners, but at least I think there is more discussion and collaboration around how we can make it work for everybody.