On Oct. 3, 2008, the United States Congress passed the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity & Addiction Equity Act of 2008. When this law takes effect in late 2009, it will require insurers, including self-insured groups, who offer behavioral health coverage to cover mental health care and chemical dependency care the same as they do other medical conditions. HealthPartners is reviewing both state and federal parity laws and their impact on all of our lines of business. We will provide additional information as it becomes available.

HealthPartners is an industry leader in mental and chemical health care. Our significant commitment to mental health care is evidenced by the release of a new program called Moving Forward. This new disease management program is focused on helping patients who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder manage their conditions.

HealthPartners has also developed (patent pending) a predictive modeling system specifically for the purpose of proactively reaching out to members at risk for mental health hospitalization in order to coordinate care, provide health education and health coaching, decision support and referral support for clinical and community services.

Additionally, as of Oct. 1, 2008, Hazelden is a contracted residential treatment provider and will be an in-network provider (prior authorization is required) for all members on our commercial plans.

Learn more about HealthPartners behavioral health programs and services.

HealthPartners has launched a new Web tool that provides the HealthPartners contracted rates for five high volume categories of services: office visits, immunizations/vaccines, common lab services, X-Ray and CT/MRI.

HealthPartners members previously accessed cost information as a range of prices for many services. The new price listings feature clinic-specific pricing and are accessible through the Find a Provider/Clinic section of healthpartners.com. These listings are available at in-network primary care and radiology facilities in the seven county metro area. The network search is the most frequently accessed section of healthpartners.com, with an average of more than 107,000 search requests per month.

"This is an important step forward in transparency because the information we provide is for specific prices rather than a range," said Scott Aebischer, senior vice president, customer service and product innovation. "This information is particularly useful for members who are paying out-of-pocket fees. Pricing, along with overall cost and quality information, can help a member determine the care provider that is right for them."

A HealthPartners study released last year found that consumers with health savings accounts used Web tools 13 percent more often to compare cost and quality. The study also found that costs were more than four percent lower for members in consumer direct health plans due to members choosing lower cost and more efficient providers.

As part of HealthPartners ongoing commitment to providing relevant, useful cost and quality information to help member make informed decisions about healthcare, in December, HealthPartners will expand the cost information to include an interactive tool that will allow members to compare prices for up to three locations at a time. Watch for continued enhancements to healthpartners.com!

Engaging consumers in their healthcare is crucial to helping them make informed choices. However, making those decisions can be hard, especially when the consumer is confronted with multiple options or lacks the necessary information and support.

Research shows that members who use decision support tools are more satisfied with their care experience, and they tend to choose more conservative care, which helps reduce misuse or overuse of services and increases affordability. 

HealthPartners provides our members with decision support tools and resources they can use to make confident, comfortable choices that are right for them. At HealthPartners, a member’s values and personal preferences are always part of the decision-making process.

HealthPartners market-leading approach to decision support is based on research from Dartmouth University and expert training from the Ottawa Health Research Institute.

Members can choose to make decisions using tools and resources independently or with assistance from specially trained staff. Common decision support questions include:

• Should I have back surgery or physical therapy for lower back pain?
• Do I have weight loss surgery or lose weight by making diet and exercise changes?
• Do I continue working while I have chemotherapy?

Members can take advantage of decision support services at no extra cost. In fact, decision support is provided by nurse navigators, health coaches, care managers and case managers at many points across our integrated system of care.

For more details, visit healthpartners.com/decisionsupport or contact your HealthPartners sales executive or your broker.

Employers with retirees inside and outside of Minnesota have a new solution available through HealthPartners. On October 1st, HealthPartners unveiled its new Medicare Part D plan, a national prescription drug plan which pairs with a HealthPartners Retiree Medical Plan to provide coverage for retirees who live outside Minnesota. The plan benefits can be matched to those of Minnesota retirees on our HealthPartners Freedom plan.

Employers can still choose from a variety of plans, including:

• Enhanced Medicare Part D
• Retiree Drug Subsidy
• No Prescription Drug Coverage
• Standalone Prescription Drug Coverage

If you have questions about how this new product might benefit your group or if you would like more details, please contact your HealthPartners sales executive or your broker.

Learn more about our Group Retiree Plans.

HealthPartners has been named one of the Best Places to Work in Healthcare by Modern Healthcare Magazine.

Modern Healthcare Magazine is a weekly publication whose focus is to report on significant healthcare events and trends as they happen. The focus of this award is to “recognize workplaces in healthcare that enable employees to perform at their optimum level to provide patients and customers with the best possible care and services.”

HealthPartners is extremely pleased to share this award with you and your employees. As your partner, when our employees are able to perform at their optimum level we know you and your employees are receiving the very best experience.