General Electric, General Motors and other large companies are teaming up with hospitals to reduce healthcare costs, specifically those related to childbirth, for their employees, Reuters reports.
Here are four things to know:
1. Many larger companies are working directly with hospitals to reduce healthcare costs for their U.S. employees. Much of their efforts are specifically related to reducing the cost of maternal care, which is one of the main drivers of high-cost claims, an executive with the National Business Group on Health told Reuters. Avoiding unnecessary cesarean sections and minimizing complications "decreases turnover in the workforce following the birth of a child," the executive said.
2. GE launched its maternity care select program in Cincinnati in 2016 with 78 women enrolled. Since then, the program expanded to include 136 employees in 2017 and now includes hospitals in Wisconsin, South Carolina and Massachusetts. This year, GE officials announced plans to add a location in New York.
3. In Cincinnati, where nearly 300 babies are born per year to GE employee families, the company teamed up with Cincinnati-based TriHealth to provide a single bundled payment rate to care for low- and moderate-risk mothers from the start of pregnancy until 90 days after the baby is born. The package removes the financial upside to undergoing a C-section, which costs roughly 60 percent more on average than a regular delivery, the report states.
4. GE, which pays out-of-pocket for female employees who enroll in the program, said it has saved nearly $2 million on care for its employees through the initiative. Neither TriHealth nor GE would disclose the bundled payment rates to Reuters or how those rates compare to other hospitals.
To access the full report, click here.