Millman recently estimated that the  combined premium and out-of-pocket costs paid by a family of 4 was  $26,944 –  44% of the median household income of  $59,039. Little wonder the 151 million Americans under 65 who receive their  health insurance from their employer – and the employers themselves who are  paying the majority of these premiums – are actively exploring  new ways to  rein in a spending trend that’s appears to  be out of control.

As an employer yourself, these new approaches potentially can cut your employee benefit costs. But, for providers, they can also disrupt your position in the marketplace – with attendant risks and rewards.

During this Special Combined Bay Area Round Table Event, our Featured Speakers will present some of the innovative, traditional, and blended approaches that are increasingly being applied by healthcare purchasers to try to “bend trend.”

Our Featured Speakers will be:

 Jack Asher, MD,  is the VP and Chief Medical Officer for Anthem Blue Cross’s 5 million Commercial members in California, where he provides clinical strategy and insight to large groups (both fully-insured and self-funded), as well as for small groups. A head and neck surgeon by background, Jack also serves as the clinical face of Anthem, partnering with provider solutions to support the network, including vendor assessment and implementation, and continued transformation of the delivery system through Anthem’s Enhanced Personal Health Care ACO initiative. His office is also responsible for the traditional medical management roles of utilization review, grievance and appeals, regulatory compliance, medical policy development, and delegated medical group engagement.

 Jamie Robinson, PhDProfessor of Health
Economics at UC Berkeley. He’s also a leading proponent of Value-Based Purchasing, particularly, Reference Pricing. Drawing on his vast experience in this area, Jamie will share examples of how Reference Pricing initiatives have worked effectively to help control health insurance costs, including for CalPERS (which purchases coverage for its 1.3 million employees), as well as for a number of smaller health insurance purchasers. Jamie’s research, teaching, and prolific writing focuses on the healthcare delivery, biotechnology, medical device, and insurance sectors.