HealthPartners is part of an unprecedented and diverse health reform coalition called the National Priorities Partnership. The group unveiled its plans for improving the quality of U.S. healthcare last month in Washington, D.C.

George Isham, MD, HealthPartners chief health officer, is representing HealthPartners on the coalition. The National Priority Partnership plans are designed to improve quality by better engaging patients in their own care, promoting health and disease prevention, improving care coordination and care at the end of life and ensuring that care is safe, efficient, affordable and provides a superior patient experience.

The National Priorities Partnership includes 28 high-profile groups representing consumers, providers, practitioners, purchasers, health plans, government, accreditation and certification organizations and quality alliances.

Learn more about the National Priorities Partnership.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced a new requirement for health plans to gather additional personal information about group plan enrollees.

In order to comply with this new directive, HealthPartners will need your assistance in gathering key data about some of your employees, their dependents and your business during 2009.

• HealthPartners must gather certain personal data, including Social Security numbers, for employees and spouses age 45 or older and Medicare-eligible dependents (i.e. disabled individuals). Data must be retroactive back to Jan. 1, 2009.
• HealthPartners must also gather additional business information quarterly, including your tax ID number and number of active full and part time employees.
• While some health plans have to fulfill this requirement by Jan. 1, 2009, HealthPartners has until April 1, 2009 to gather this information. The extra time was provided to establish a voluntary data sharing agreement with CMS for plans that do not currently have such an agreement in place. We will be working with you over the coming months to obtain the required information. 

Medicare intends to use this data to coordinate benefits of people who have both Medicare and private insurance to ensure Medicare is not paying claims that should be paid by insurance plans.

Your HealthPartners sales executive will be in touch early next year about what is needed to comply with this requirement. Additional guidance from CMS is expected in late December and we will continue to update you as more details are released.

The past year for HealthPartners dental plans should have given everyone a little something to smile about.

We enhanced the dental benefits and now offer the following:

• Dental Benefits for Little Partners, which includes full coverage for services included in your dental plans to kids 12 and under. This benefit takes effect on your renewal date.
• Dental Implants, which includes both the surgical placement of the implant and the implant prosthetic. This benefit takes effect on your renewal date.
• Diabetes and Maternity Care, which includes enhanced periodontal benefits for members who are diabetic and/or pregnant. This benefit took effect for all members enrolled in group plans July 1, 2008.

These enhancements, combined with the dental network size, affordability and value-adds, deliver great value for you and your employees. As always, to learn more, please contact your HealthPartners sales executive or your broker.

It’s hard to believe that 2008 is already coming to a close. As we look forward to 2009, we wanted to make sure to get the date for the 2009 Purchaser Symposium on your calendar.

The 2009 symposium will be held on Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at the RiverCentre in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Please mark your calendar now and watch for more information in the next few months!

To learn more about last year’s event, please visit healthpartners.com/symposium.

With today’s concerns over the economy, everyone is looking for practical ways to cut expenses. When your employees ask you how they can save on their healthcare costs, offer them the following practical tips.

• Use the Web to find lower cost providers. HealthPartners lists the prices of 83 common services and procedures for 500 primary care, radiology clinics and hospitals in the Twin Cities metro area on healthpartners.com. For example, depending on where you go, an MRI can cost between $560 and $2,100 for the same test. You can also see the quality of these providers online. Choosing a lower cost provide can save you hundreds of dollars.
  
  

• Ask about generic drugs. Generic drugs have the same active ingredients, strength, dosage and quality as the brand version, but they cost a lot less. Visit HealthPartners drug cost calculator to see if of your brand name drug(s) has a generic alternative. For example, the following popular brand name drugs have a generic alternative:
• Prevacid for heartburn
• Lipitor for cholesterol
• Nasonex for allergies
  
  

• Get prescriptions by mail order. HealthPartners offers a Mail Order Pharmacy option that can help you save on your prescriptions. You can order up to a three-month supply of prescriptions for a discounted rate with free shipping.  Most plans offer a two month supply for just two copays!
  
  

• Split pills. Some medications, like those for high cholesterol, can safely be cut in half. You’ll pay for a 30-day prescription, but receive a 60-day supply.
  
  

• Use e-care or telephone visits. Some clinics, including HealthPartners Clinics, offer e-visits and phone visits, which can save you time and gas money.
  
  

• Use walk-in clinics. If you have a simple illness such as an ear infection or pink eye, retail or convenience clinics (such as those found in Target stores) can save you about one-third the cost of a traditional office visit according to a recent HealthPartners study.
  
  

• Use Urgent Care whenever possible. If you need to see a doctor, many doctor’s offices, including HealthPartners Clinics, offer walk-in Urgent Care. HealthPartners’ study found costs at Urgent Care Clinics were more than $200 less than a visit to the emergency room. If you ever have a question about where you should go, call HealthPartners CareLine^SM Service after hours for help getting the right care at the right time.
  

For more cost-saving suggestions, please log on as a member and explore the new healthpartners.com.

The Minnesota Department of Commerce now requires all employee health plan applications to be filed with the state. As a result, some adjustments have been made. If you are enrolling employees or adding new hires, please use our new Minnesota Employee Application.