University Focus
TIP: Get regular dental check-ups. Keeping your teeth and gums healthy can save money and help maintain your health.
The University of Michigan is engaged in a variety of innovative initiatives, research efforts and programs in recent years to help contain rising health care costs, improve health care delivery and promote a culture of health. Below are descriptions of some of the most notable of these efforts and how they hope to positively impact the health of our community, the long-range viability of U-M’s high-quality benefit plans, and the economic health of the institution.
MHealthy
University of Michigan Center for Value-Based Insurance Design
Benefits Stewardship
Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation
Resources
MHealthy
Four years ago, under the direction of President Mary Sue Coleman, the University launched an initiative program intended to promote a culture of health among its faculty and staff while addressing the problem of rising health care costs. MHealthy (formerly Michigan Healthy Community), was established to:
- Promote the health and well-being of the University of Michigan community
- Advance public discussion and social commitment to change by developing, testing and studying efforts to improve the wellness of our employees, dependents and retirees
- Develop more cost-effective delivery of health care as a model for other institutions
MHealthy offers programs that encourage faculty and staff to invest in their health by participating in wellness assessments, engaging in physical activity, choosing healthier foods, reducing injuries through good ergonomic practices, taking care of their bodies and minds, managing their diseases and more.
MHealthy’s five-year strategic plan was approved in 2008, allowing the program to continue to promote health and well-being as a strategy contributing toward long-term cost containment.
MHealthy’s strategic goals are to:
- Improve health and quality of life for the U-M community
- Educate, motivate and empower individuals to make good health care decisions and practice healthy behaviors
- Promote wellness, illness and injury prevention and disease management
- Contribute to managing health care costs and optimizing health outcomes
- Disseminate findings to enable replication
In 2009, MHealthy’s new, voluntary Wellness Assessment program will help faculty and staff understand their current health status and the risk factors that could impact their future health.
University of Michigan Center for Value-Based Insurance Design
The University of Michigan Center for Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) was established in 2005 to develop, evaluate and promote value-based insurance initiatives in order to ensure efficient expenditure of health care dollars and maximize the benefits of care. The Center is a cross-disciplinary effort that brings together faculty with clinical and economic expertise to conduct empirical research to determine the health and economic impact of innovative benefit designs.
One such project is the Focus on Diabetes pilot program initiated in 2007 by MHealthy (then Michigan Healthy Community) in cooperation with VBID. Utilizing the principles of value-based benefit design, the Focus on Diabetes program offered reduced or waived copays to individuals with diabetes. The program was designed to encourage the use of medications known to improve health and reduce the complications of diabetes with the expectation that the short-term cost of covering copays could provide long-term value by preventing the complications and related diseases that occur when medications are not regularly taken because they are not affordable.
Benefits Stewardship
High-quality, market-competitive and affordable benefit programs are vital to the health and well-being of the University community. Health care coverage, together with a generous matching contribution retirement savings plan, are core components of the University’s exemplary benefits package. These two offerings represent the University’s largest areas of benefit expenditure.
In an effort to take responsible fiscal steps to curb the rate of cost increases and protect the long-term viability of our benefit plans for our community, the University established two committees in September 2008 to make recommendations to help slow the rate of cost increase and safeguard the University’s standards for high-quality benefits.
- The Committee on Sustainable Health Benefits (COSHB)
COSHB’s charge was to recommend methods to achieve a new ratio for aggregate cost-sharing for employees and retirees. - The Committee to Study Vesting Options for the Retirement Savings Plan
This committee’s charge was to provide guidance on vesting options and waiting periods for the enrollment of future employees in U-M Retirement Savings Plan.
The committees began meeting in September 2008 and submitted their recommendations to the Executive Vice Presidents and Associate Vice President for Human Resources in December 2008. Decisions on changes will be made and communicated by spring 2009. Changes will begin to be implemented in 2010 and will be completed by the 2011 benefit year.
Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation
The Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation (CHRT) was formed as a result of the University of Michigan’s sale of its M-CARE health plan to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. CHRT combines the research strengths of the University with the health plan expertise of the Blues to test the best ideas for improving healthcare delivery, financing systems, population health and access to health care.
CHRT’s mission is to:
- Promote evidence-based care delivery
- Improve population health
- Help achieve universal access to care
Principal researchers for CHRT projects come from the University of Michigan community, and the principal “laboratory” will be the members, providers and health plans of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and the Blue Care Network.
CHRT focuses on projects that translate theory into practice and contribute to the national health care dialog in two major categories:
- Care delivery and financing
- Population health and access to care
The CHRT board meets regularly to consider potential areas of health care that will improve the delivery of services, get the right care to the right person at the right time, prevent medical errors, reduce risks, avoid unnecessary treatment, or get more value for the dollars spent.
Resources
MHealthy
University of Michigan Center for Value-Based Insurance Design
Benefits Stewardship at Michigan
Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation