A Midwest-based health plan administrator has signed on with Verisk Health to improve its offerings through the use of healthcare analytics.
MedBen, which consists of the Newark, Ohio-based Medical Benefits Mutual Life Insurance Company and its subsidiaries Medical Benefits Administrators, Inc., and VisionPlus of America, Inc., will use Verisk Health's Sightlines Medical Intelligence solution to identify healthcare trends and cost drivers, facilitate benefit program design and reduce health plan costs for its employer clients.
According to officials at Waltham, Mass.-based Verisk Health, the Sightlines solution analyzes existing claims data to identify and report on quality and cost metrics. Predictive modeling tools allow users to understand what drives healthcare costs, identify gaps in care and cost-saving opportunities and benchmark data for reporting and analysis.
"We've reached a critical juncture in healthcare today, one that requires a true assessment and understanding of the underlying risk affecting employee populations," said Steve Ober, MD, Verisk Health's executive vice president. "The old standby of simply understanding what happened won't cut it anymore. To take action, our clients need to know what will happen and what they can do about it. Using Sightlines Medical Intelligence, MedBen can further help its clients take proactive action to manage health risk and implement effective wellness strategies to ultimately reduce spending."
"A primary challenge for employers today is improving health and productivity while reducing costs. To cut down on spending, however, requires timely visibility into a population's health status and a clear understanding of the opportunities for clinical and financial improvements," added Doug Freeman, MedBen's president and chief executive officer. "The Verisk Health solution will enable us to help our clients identify risks and develop strategies to reduce health risk and spending while maximizing the overall value of their benefit programs."