A recent article reported that 90 percent of employers may stop offering their current health insurance plans because the regulations for “grandfathering” them under the new reform law are too onerous (“Employers seek help with health reform changes,” Aug. 9 & 16). That could be a big mistake.

 
Businesses that want to keep their current plans – whether because their employees like them or because they want to avoid the law’s costly new mandates – can do so by adopting a technology-enabled business strategy called Healthcare Performance Management (HPM). HPM techniques allow executives to anonymously identify health risks within their workforce – and then to implement customized, low-cost outreach programs to mitigate those risks.
 
For instance, HPM data could inform an employer about a subset of employees with elevated risk for heart disease. Armed with this information, the firm could respond with a proven wellness initiative or a subsidized prescription-drug program.
 
The potential savings are substantial -- employers nationwide have cut as much as 30 percent from their healthcare bills thanks to HPM.
 
Sincerely,
 
George Pantos
Executive Director
Healthcare Performance Management Institute