Interventional Orthopedic Insights
From the Desk of Regenexx CEO Jason Hellickson
More than 50% of Walmart employees who had been told by their physicians or local hospitals that they needed spine operations learned that they did not need that surgery!
Similarly, twenty percent of Walmart employees, who had been advised locally that they needed joint-replacement surgery, learned that they, also, did not need that surgery!
The employees received this life changing information from a medical “Center-of-Excellence.” This was set up by Walmart as part of a new approach to care, known as “Direct Contracting,” a process that is fundamentally transforming how health care is accessed and delivered in Corporate America. Using the purchasing power of their company, employers are beginning to contract directly with health care providers, instead of using insurance companies as middlemen. And this movement is growing: according to a recent Willis Towers Watson survey, while only 6% of employers contract directly with providers to date, 22% are considering or planning for this in 2019.
Of the top 5 major diagnostic categories, almost 70% of employers plan to place specific emphasis on musculoskeletal conditions, second only to diabetes prevention. Research shows that this new approach significantly increases quality of care, while reducing its costs.
Walmart is the leader in this new approach to the access and delivery of healthcare, having launched more than 10 direct contracting relationships since 2016. The examples above are indicative of their reduction in healthcare waste as well as significant savings in employer and employee health care costs.
Direct Contracting partnerships are not limited to establishing Centers-of-Excellence, they also contract directly with top performing physicians for specific conditions that carry high risk and high variation in cost. Under this system, unnecessary surgeries and procedures are reduced, resulting in reduced time off work, reduced hospitalization and reduced need for expensive follow-up care. Importantly, there is also an increase in quality of care.
Direct contracting allows the implementation of innovative procedures for specific orthopedic conditions. It provides a health plan that uniquely addresses the ever-changing needs of employees. Self-funded employers of all sizes can implement direct contracting programs to intervene in high cost diagnostic categories with state-of-the-art programs that large insurance companies are limited in their ability to underwrite.
I Regenexx Direct Contracting AdvantagE
The Regenexx Corporate Program helps companies save a significant percentage of their orthopedic healthcare spend through our specialized direct contracting program.
- We have over 30 years of experience in the insurance industry.
- There is no cost to the plan sponsor to add Regenexx.
- We work with brokers, TPAs and employers to add Regenexx procedures to existing benefit plans.
- We work through complex contract language and plan designs to create custom solutions that enable employers to see actual utilization of interventional care.
Let us help you gain better control over the quality of care and appropriateness of care for orthopedic and musculoskeletal conditions. Learn more at Regenexxcorporate.com
Live Informed,
Jason Hellickson
Chief Executive Officer, Regenexx
1-319-899-4332
jhellickson@regenexx.com
Your Trusted Resource to Reduce Orthopedic Costs and Achieve Better Patient Outcomes