Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/107253
ThedaCare: A Closer Look Headquartered in Appleton, ThedaCare is a community-owned health system that includes five hospitals (Appleton Medical Center, Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah, New London Medical Center, Riverside Medical Center in Waupaca and Shawano Medical Center) and dozens of clinics and other health care services. > Employees: 6,175 > CEO: Dr. Dean Gruner > On the web: www.thedacare.org B A Gardan President John Dennis, who adds that offering insurance is one way to attract and retain employees. While most business owners are concerned about what the reform may mean to their bottom line, Lisa Johnson, vice president of entrepreneurship and innovation at the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, says there is one group looking forward to the new insurance exchanges: entrepreneurs and very small business owners who have struggled to find affordable coverage. The exchange now makes it possible that an owner of a business with just one or two employees can get the same pricing as a business 10 times its size – if the exchanges work as designed, she says. And despite the concern, a recent survey found that most businesses plan to continue to offer insurance. The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans in Pewaukee conducted a survey after the November election asking employers if they plan to change what they do regarding health insurance once the health insurance exchanges open in January 2014. Eighty-four percent of U.S. online: Click to hear Dr. Dean Gruner talk about how the health care industry, and ThedaCare in particular, is finding creative ways toward positive changes. says Gruner, adding the organization has been very proactive in getting its workers healthier, which will lead to lower costs. "By improving our employees' health – which we've been able to measure through their health risk assessment results – we have been able to lower costs." ThedaCare launched a wellness value stream four years ago to come up with a variety of ways to create a healthier workforce. For example, health coaches are available to work with employees on reforming some of their unhealthier habits and there's also more awareness. "A few years ago, there were donuts out in the office a couple times a week. Now, you don't see that any more. We do things like salad days and other things to promote healthier habits," Gruner says. As a health care provider, the biggest change ThedaCare will see as a result of the ACA is financial. As part of the ACA, the reimbursement rate for Medicare patients will decline. This is in "It's not worthwhile for doctors and nurses to be worried about how they get paid. addition to spending cuts agreed to in the That's for us in administration. I just want them to focus on what they do best and take care of patients and provide them with the best care possible." summer of 2011 for the program. Add those Dean G r une r , T he d a C a r e C E O up and ThedaCare looks to lose about $4 million in Medicare funding this year. With that in mind, some health care systems have panicked and began slashing their workforces employers say they are very likely or definitely will continue to keep their costs down, Gruner says. ThedaCare, which has to provide employer-sponsored health insurance for fulla no-layoff policy, does things differently. To control costs, time employees. The top reasons employers gave to continue the organization has a vibrant continuous improvement and coverage? To maintain or increase employee satisfaction lean culture in place that has helped it save more than $20 and loyalty; retain current employees; and satisfy collective million since starting its lean journey in the early 2000s. bargaining agreements. ThedaCare, along with Bellin and their independent physician partners, are participating in the Pioneer ACO, a Medicare experiment that looks at paying doctors differently, rewarding them for quality and outcomes rather than the As an employer and a health care provider, services provided. Gruner says participating in the program the ACA affects ThedaCare on multiple fronts. As an is a financial risk since they may lose money from Medicare if employer, ThedaCare needs to make sure it complies with the quality of care isn't there, but one worth taking. "We need the new rules set down in the ACA while at the same time it to start looking at other possibilities of how to be paid (for faces a loss in federal funding. providing medical service). We've got to figure it out," he says. "Like other employers, we're concerned about health costs," The Challenge 28 | Insight • F e b r u a r y 2 013 w w w. i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m