Union engineers a better health care system

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Health Economics
• Quality Improvement

Background:

• Healthcare costs are a significant concern for employers and unions.
• Managed care programs offer a framework for controlling healthcare expenditures.
• Balancing cost reduction with quality of care is a key challenge in healthcare delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the implementation of a managed care program by the Operating Engineers.
• To outline the strategies employed by the program to reduce healthcare costs.
• To assess the program's dual focus on cost containment and quality maximization.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a managed care program.
• Introduction of controls on patient length-of-stay.
• Application of physician unbundling strategies.

Main Results:

• The program successfully introduced controls on key cost drivers.
• Focus on patient length-of-stay and physician unbundling initiated cost-reduction measures.
• The program was designed to concurrently enhance quality of care.

Conclusions:

• Managed care programs can be structured to address both cost reduction and quality enhancement.
• Controlling specific healthcare utilization metrics like length-of-stay is a viable cost-containment strategy.
• The Operating Engineers' program demonstrates a commitment to optimizing healthcare value.