Healthcare resources are precious to employers that strive to provide comprehensive, high quality healthcare benefits.  HC21, as a locally integrated multi-stakeholder organization, is uniquely positioned to support our employer members in identifying, developing and implementing initiatives that redeploy  low value care spend toward high value care spend.  HC21 has the data, the vision and the provider relationships to stimulate real world change in the local market.

Wasteful Rx Program

• Employers can access a nationally recognized list of wasteful drugs to identify cost savings opportunities. 

The Fendrick Five – Top Five Low Value Care measures developed by Mark Fendrick and the Task Force on Low Value Care

• HC21 developed a data spec sheet to evaluate low value care opportunities identified by TFLVC.

Low Back Pain and Imaging Provider Collaboration

• Knoxville Employers are engaging local healthcare systems to address low value imaging for patients with low back pain

HIGH VALUE/ LOW VALUE CARE INITIATIVES

LEAPFROG 

HC21, in partnership with our regional employers, annually encourages hospitals to participate in the Leapfrog survey, and work to meet Leapfrog standards.

The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey collects and transparently reports hospital performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. Once surveys are completed and calculated, we publish the results in our annual Consumer Guide on Health. 

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog’s other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.

HC21 includes the Spring letter grades, and releases an infographic with our regional grades in the Spring and Fall. 

EDUCATIONAL
EVENTS

ANNUAL HEALTH & PRODUCTIVITY FORUM
Held annually on the 1st Tuesday of May, the HC21 Forum is the largest health benefits conference in the area with human resource managers, benefit managers, health plan representatives and health care professionals attending from the region’s leading businesses. 

ANNUAL PHARMA U
Pharma U is designed to inform about current topics that impact pharmacy spend and to prepare organizations to better manage pharmacy benefits through vendor management, contracting, and benefit design.

LEARNING NETWORK

Four learning sessions held annually that provide an in-depth showcase of the HC21 four lever approach to value-based benefit design. These sessions provide benefit staff with the tools to implement strategies to put the lever approach into action.

ONE VOICE

A lunch series exclusively for HC21 members that provides education and fosters employer collaboration on topics related to the HC21 four lever approach to value-based change. Employers will learn ways to individually pull the levers in favor of their organizations and have opportunities to work on regional projects to create change in the greater marketplace.  

COLLEGE FOR VALUE-BASED PURCHASING
The College was created to help employee benefit managers meet the growing challenges of providing high quality health benefits and managing rising benefit costs. The College offers a practical, intensive program that focuses on benefits purchasing techniques and skills that emphasize improving the value, quality-cost ratio, and effectiveness of health care services purchased on behalf of employees.

HC21 is a leader in educating employers, and convening meaningful regional initiatives that drive for novel and sustainable payment and delivery models; models that lower cost while increase quality.  

PAYMENT 
REFORM

HealthCare 21 brought together various stakeholders to form the HC21 Narcotics Task Force. A top objective of this task force is to provide employers, providers, and the community with a tool kit to assist them in addressing the issue of narcotics abuse. The sections of this tool kit are largely comprised of sample policies, agreements, plan designs, and other items that can serve to inform and as a template.

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The taskforce also conducted a survey of HC21 members on implementation of recommendations on the benefit checklist before and after an educational program on appropriate pain management and ADOs. To see an infographic of key findings, click here.

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In 2018, HC21 created an opioid guide of Best Practices for employers to help them determine what their organization can do to change benefit design, PBM contracts, and employee education around opioids. Click here for a PDF.

MENTAL HEALTH SUBSTANCE USE