Lincolnshire’s Aon Hewitt joins health care reform coalition

Lincolnshire-based Aon Hewitt said it is the first global consulting firm to become an active member of Catalyst for Payment Reform, an independent, nonprofit employer coalition pushing for better value in U.S. health care.

Through the partnership, Aon Hewitt will work closely with Catalyst for Payment Reform and its 29 employer and state Medicaid, employee and retiree members to assist Aon Hewitt’s clients in evaluating and adopting provider payment strategies and techniques that promote cost effective, high-quality health care for their workforces.

“The $2.7 trillion U.S. health care system is undergoing rapid transformation, as both public and private payers desire a system that produces better health outcomes at a more efficient cost,” said Jim Winkler, chief innovation officer for Health & Benefits at Aon Hewitt. “Employers are looking at adopting more aggressive data-driven techniques to improve health care purchasing and to shift the payment focus toward services and providers that produce higher quality outcomes.”

Christina Miles, vice president, health & benefits at Aon Hewitt and the project leader for Aon Hewitt’s involvement with CPR said that by working with CPR, “we can support our clients’ efforts and contribute to CPR’s mission of working toward a health care system in which employers and providers are aligned, with payments to doctors and hospitals that reflect the value of the care they provide.

According to Aon Hewitt’s 2013 survey of nearly 800 large and mid-size U.S. employers covering more than 7 million employees, 53 percent said that moving toward provider payment models that promote cost effective, high quality health care will be a part of their future health care strategy, and one in five identified it as one of their three highest priorities.

“Catalyst for Payment Reform’s shared purchaser agenda outlines a movement toward a higher-quality, more affordable health care system through changing how we pay for care,” said Suzanne Delbanco, executive director of Catalyst for Payment Reform. “Critical to our success is partnering with leading consultants that help employers navigate the complexities of health care and advise them on how to design effective health strategies that lower costs and improve employee health. We are thrilled to have Aon Hewitt as the first consulting firm committed to working with clients to develop and execute strategies that will reduce unnecessary expenses and thus create more efficiency in the way they purchase health care.”