The Dallas-Fort Worth Business Group on Health (DFWBGH), a nonprofit coalition of Dallas-Fort Worth area employers and health services organizations, announced the election of two new Directors, Lana Raimbault, Senior Manager of Benefits, Fluor Corporation, and Tom Vertich, Director of Total Rewards, Team Car Care dba Jiffy Lube.  Read more...

On March 11, 2021 President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package. While healthcare was not a major focus of the bill, there are several healthcare-related provisions included in the legislation. Click here to read more.

The pandemic economy has stood out, in part, because it’s lifted certain industries and individuals, including some that seemed vulnerable to the downturn. Health maintenance organizations, which provide health coverage to over 5.4 million Texans, are the latest example of players that benefited greatly in the early months of the pandemic. Texas HMOs more than doubled their profit margins in the first nine months of 2020 as many customers chose to put off care during the public health crisis. Click here to read more.

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.