The Dallas-Fort Worth Business Group on Health is expected to announce a $600,000, three-year program today to address the soaring number of diabetes cases and costs.
Members of the group's Value-Driven Health Care Collaborative – a joint effort of employers, doctors and insurers – said they think that by working together, they can drive down costs related to the disease.
One of the things the group plans is a program to visit area businesses to discuss ways employees can lower their risk of developing the disease, which is linked to the growing incidence of obesity in America.
In Texas, hospitalizations attributed to diabetes ran $3.7 billion in 2003, according to the Texas Diabetes Council.
An estimated 1.3 million Texans 18 and older have been diagnosed with the disease. That accounts for more than 8 percent of the national total of 15.3 million, according to the state council.
Diabetes is the first of several chronic illnesses the group will take on.
Once the group has come up with systems for "measuring, improving and reporting physician performance [related to diabetes], for assessing consumer awareness and satisfaction, and educating patients about complying with treatment recommendations, these should be transferable to other chronic illnesses," said Marianne Fazen, executive director of the Dallas-Fort Worth Business Group on Health.
The collaborative involves some of Dallas-Fort Worth's largest employers, including the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, J.C. Penney Co., Sabre Holdings Corp., Brinker International, American Airlines Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co.
Slightly more than 4,000 primary care physicians – 80 percent of the area's total – acting through insurers Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, Cigna, Humana and United Healthcare, are part of the effort.
Brent Wolfe, director of compensation and benefits at Southwest Airlines, explained why area companies are taking action.
Southwest cannot afford to wait on the federal government to provide health care relief, he said.
"It's not going to be pushed at the national level, but at the local level, by employers," he said. "We're the ones paying the claims."
Southwest said it spends $230 million a year on medical claims, up 13 percent from the estimated $200 million spent in 2002. About 3 percent of the airline's 74,000 health plan members have been diagnosed with diabetes, Mr. Wolfe said.[/i]
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...n1.3714ad4.html
Members of the group's Value-Driven Health Care Collaborative – a joint effort of employers, doctors and insurers – said they think that by working together, they can drive down costs related to the disease.
One of the things the group plans is a program to visit area businesses to discuss ways employees can lower their risk of developing the disease, which is linked to the growing incidence of obesity in America.
In Texas, hospitalizations attributed to diabetes ran $3.7 billion in 2003, according to the Texas Diabetes Council.
An estimated 1.3 million Texans 18 and older have been diagnosed with the disease. That accounts for more than 8 percent of the national total of 15.3 million, according to the state council.
Diabetes is the first of several chronic illnesses the group will take on.
Once the group has come up with systems for "measuring, improving and reporting physician performance [related to diabetes], for assessing consumer awareness and satisfaction, and educating patients about complying with treatment recommendations, these should be transferable to other chronic illnesses," said Marianne Fazen, executive director of the Dallas-Fort Worth Business Group on Health.
The collaborative involves some of Dallas-Fort Worth's largest employers, including the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, J.C. Penney Co., Sabre Holdings Corp., Brinker International, American Airlines Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co.
Slightly more than 4,000 primary care physicians – 80 percent of the area's total – acting through insurers Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, Cigna, Humana and United Healthcare, are part of the effort.
Brent Wolfe, director of compensation and benefits at Southwest Airlines, explained why area companies are taking action.
Southwest cannot afford to wait on the federal government to provide health care relief, he said.
"It's not going to be pushed at the national level, but at the local level, by employers," he said. "We're the ones paying the claims."
Southwest said it spends $230 million a year on medical claims, up 13 percent from the estimated $200 million spent in 2002. About 3 percent of the airline's 74,000 health plan members have been diagnosed with diabetes, Mr. Wolfe said.[/i]
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...n1.3714ad4.html
