We’re pleased to share this new report of Roundtable discussions between several DFWBGH employers and physician leaders, which took place last July during the height of the COVID pandemic.  The strategic discussions focused on 3 key areas of mutual interest: Integration of behavioral health with primary care; Strategies to reduce low-value care;  and Meaningful physician performance metrics.  The Report includes side-by-side lists of the current state of affairs between employers and physicians, and existing barriers to improvements.  Recommended strategies for both parties are presented, plus employer action steps to overcome the barriers. The Roundtable was sponsored by the National Alliance…

GUIDING EMPLOYEES THROUGH UNCERTAIN TIMES TO ENSURE VACCINE ADOPTION About 75%–85% of Americans must get vaccinated to achieve herd immunity We are at the intersection of calamity and opportunity. As of December 2020, COVID-19 deaths have topped 300,000, scientists are predicting a grim winter, and coronavirus fatigue and burnout is leading to unrest and behavior that defies safety recommendations. Yet, the FDA has issued two Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) for highly effective vaccines, a first step in gaining control over the virus, with more vaccines in the pipeline. Read More

Hospitals face the new year with new requirements to post price information they have long sought to obscure: the actual prices negotiated with insurers and the discounts they offer their cash-paying customers. The move is part of a larger push by the Trump administration to use price transparency to curtail prices and create better-informed consumers. Yet there is disagreement on whether it will do so. CLICK HERE to read more.  

DALLAS – December 16, 2020 – The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit representing hundreds of the nation’s most influential employers and purchasers of health care and driven in north Texas by the DFW Business Group on Health (DFWBGH), announced today fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades. CLICK HERE to read more. DFWBGH-Leapfrog-fall-2020-safety-grades-release-FINAL Download  

According to The Commonwealth Fund, healthcare insurance costs  for a family surpassed $20,000 for the first time in 2019 and are up more than 44 percent since 2010, when the average cost for family coverage was $14,526. Employers subsidize a great deal of these costs and are increasingly focused on reducing their healthcare spending, which is often one of the top business expenses. CLICK HERE to read more.