New NBCH Tool Helps Employers Get Better Value for Health Care Dollars

ValuePort™ enables purchasers to better understand their data to identify and implement strategies to improve health and control costs

WASHINGTON and SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Nov. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- To help employers make the best informed purchasing decisions and get the most value for their health care dollars, the non-profit National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH) has developed ValuePort™. An online decision support and planning tool, ValuePort assists benefits and wellness professionals in adopting value-based health strategies with providers and vendors. The tool guides the selection of customized strategies to improve employee health while strengthening purchasing power.

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"There's a lot of information available to employers, but it's often difficult for them to determine which programs to prioritize," said Tim F. Kowalski, M.D., chief medical officer, Progressive Corporation. "This new tool will help employers pinpoint areas for improvement and identify strategies that can make the most impact."

ValuePort was developed by NBCH as the result of extensive research finding that employers continue to need better cost and quality information. ValuePort consists of three tools: a calculator to identify and prioritize areas to improve employee health and realize costs savings for 12 of the most prevalent health risks and chronic conditions such as diabetes, obesity, and depression; customized analysis of the employer's progress in adopting value-driven health benefit practices; and evidence-based strategies to improve employee health and ultimately reduce costs.

ValuePort enhances the usability of NBCH's flagship vendor management tool eValue8™, an annual health care purchasing and quality improvement assessment process. eValue8 was created by business coalitions and employers like Marriott and General Motors to measure and evaluate vendor performance.

"This is unlike any other tool in the market as it helps busy purchasers get a clear understanding of where they are today in terms of opportunities to improve the value of their health care spend and trend that improvement over time," said Karen Linscott, NBCH chief operating officer. "Employers said they need more quantitative, actionable data to facilitate the purchasing process and manage relationships with their health benefit providers – and ValuePort fills this gap."

ValuePort was tested in a pilot phase this year with seven business health coalitions engaging over 40 employers in their local markets.

Participating NBCH member coalitions were the Colorado Business Group on Health, Florida Health Care Coalition, FrontPath Health Coalition and Health Action Council in Ohio, Midwest Business Group on Health in Illinois, Puget Sound Health Alliance, and South Carolina Business Coalition on Health.

As part of a cooperative agreement, NBCH received funds for ValuePort from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Additional support was provided through a pilot grant program in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's AF4Q National Program Office.

About the National Business Coalition on Health
NBCH is a national, non-profit, membership organization of purchaser-led business and health coalitions, representing over 7,000 employers and 25 million employees and their dependents across the United States. NBCH and its members are dedicated to value-based purchasing of health care services through the collective action of public and private purchasers. For additional information visit: www.nbch.org/valueport.

SOURCE National Business Coalition on Health

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