To answer your questions on the latest developments in the health care industry, we've asked our expert Jeff Munn, a Principal and the leader of the Design and Development team within Hewitt's Health Management Practice, to share his insights. If you'd like to ask a question on health care, consumer-driven health plans, or any other pressing human resources challenges you might be facing, email us, and we'll share responses to selected questions on a regular basis.
In a quest to make a difference in the health and health care of their employees, employers are starting to think about how they are influencing the behavior and accountability of both their employee population and their health care plan providers. Employers can support positive behavior of employees — acting as a "consumer" or "patient" — by providing information and education, targeted incentives, and clinically sensitive plan designs. Successful employers will deliver measurable results that yield improved health outcomes, more present and productive workers, and lower costs.
Hewitt's video Webcast "The Road Ahead: A Holistic Approach to Improving Health and Health Care", featured two of Hewitt's health care thought leaders, Jeff Munn and Jennifer Boehm. During this Webcast, Jeff shared the latest thinking on consumer-driven health care, and practical ways to reduce cost and improve health care outcomes. A question and answer session was held at the end of the Webcast.
Question: Do most employers that require employees to complete a health risk questionnaire (HRQ) also request or require completion of an HRQ from the employees' spouses or dependents?
Answer: When HRQs are implemented, employers normally start with the employees and may go on to spouses, but not many request information from dependents. However, when many employers look at health care expenses, they find that claims are often generated by the spouses and dependents as opposed to the employee. It would benefit employers to take HRQ requirements to the next level and request spousal participation. As technology continues to expand and develop in the health care market, more employers will have the option of offering these types of programs and incentives to family members.
PODCAST:
Listen to the entire question and answer session from "The Road Ahead: A Holistic Approach to Improving Health and Health Care" webcast. Running time for this podcast is 10:40 minutes. If you experience a slow connection, please right-click this link and download the podcast.
About Our Expert
Jeffrey D. Munn is a principal in Hewitt's Washington, D.C. consulting office. He leads Hewitt's Health Management design and development team, which is responsible for thought leadership and product development related to health and health care. Jeff has written several articles on consumer-driven health care. He is frequently quoted in publications and presents at several conferences each year. Jeff has been with Hewitt for 14 years.
