November 15, 2021
Every year, American families’ health care bills pile higher and higher with more expensive premiums, copays and prescription drug costs. Unfortunately, it’s no surprise: waste, inefficiencies and misaligned incentives have plagued the health care system for far too long—straining the pocketbooks of patients, taxpayers and businesses.
But it shouldn’t be this way. That’s why the Alliance of Community Health Plans’ (ACHP) are committed to improving coverage and care and ensuring the best bang for every health care dollar. By coordinating care, cutting hidden costs, expanding benefits and lowering prices, ACHP member companies have enhanced the value of the coverage and care they deliver.
ACHP’s inaugural ACHP Report on Affordability details the progress ACHP member companies have made. In addition, ACHP member plans provide products and services to reduce costs:
- Kaiser Permanente, Point32Health and Priority Health launched first-of-their-kind virtual-first insurance products in 2021, saving consumers as much as 20% in premiums compared to traditional health plans. Health Alliance Plan and UPMC Health Plan also offer $0 copay virtual care plans to lower consumer costs.
- Priority Health’s Cost Estimator helps shoppers navigate health care services, costs, and personalized benefits. The tool has tallied $11 million in shared savings and paid out $2.6 million in rewards to enrollees.
- HealthPartners developed a value-based care partnership with Allina Health focused on delivering higher-quality, more accessible health care at a lower cost. The collaboration has garnered medical cost savings of $40 million over the past decade while improving patient experience.
- Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin (GHC-SCW) and Geisinger Health Plan separately rolled out “Money Back Guarantees,” refunding patients’ out-of-pocket costs for health care experiences that fell short of expectations. Working to make health care more consumer-friendly, the two plans have refunded more than $600,000 combined.
- ACHP plans provide convenient, coordinated health coverage to seniors through Medicare Advantage, with one-third of all health plan MA contracts awarded 5 stars by CMS offered by ACHP members. The MA program provides all the benefits of traditional Medicare, plus enhanced benefits, high-value coverage, better health outcomes, greater transparency and superior customer experience – all at a lower price. In fact, 60 percent of MA seniors pay no premium and out-of-pocket costs are capped.
- Additionally, ACHP members innovate to curb out-of-control drug prices for consumers and urge Congress to enact pragmatic and progressive drug pricing reforms, including on specialty drugs.
Learn more about ACHP’s approach to shifting the health care system toward value by listening to ACHP’s Healthy Dialogue podcast.
