Nevada Business Group on Health Hosts Benefit Plan Design Seminar on June 12

The Nevada Business Group on Health announces its Building Common Knowledge presentation on the topic of Value-Based Benefit Design, a health benefit savings strategy that draws on a variety of incentive strategies that address the way health insurance plans are structured and utilized by employees and their dependents.

The seminar, led by benefit design thought-leader and Executive Director of the Mississippi Business Group on Health, Murray Harber will be held at noon at the Atlantis Hotel and Casino on June 12, 2014.

Registration begins at 11:30 a.m. and will be followed by the presentation and lunch at 12:00 p.m. The event costs $25 for non-NVBGH members; it is free for NVBGH Members. As space is limited, NVBGH requests that guests make reservations by June 3, 2014.

“As we continue the search for ways to support Nevada workers to make good health choices, Value Based Benefit Design needs to be explored and considered as a proven strategy,” says Nevada Business Group on Health Executive Director Terri Lightfoot. “We are truly excited to have Murray Harber come to Reno to speak directly with our health benefits professionals.”

Lightfoot explains that private and public companies nationwide have sparked the VBBD revolution in benefit design. “They looked at the health of their general employee population and also considered the health of their employees at high-risk due to coronary disease, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, asthma and depression - the most common, costly and preventable health problems in the United States, and developed a plan to keep people healthy while rewarding them for compliance with their treatment plans and medications.”

Lightfoot says VBBD has had both a cultural and a cost-moderation effect in companies that have embraced the strategy. “Employee morale and management support are high, and the health costs are flattening out. Absenteeism is lower, and productivity is higher. ”

Seminar presenter Harber, who has become an influential voice in the discussion about how value-based benefits can make a strong impact on overall employee health and, in turn, on productivity in the workplace, will further explain the basic concepts behind VBBD; differentiate it from traditional benefit designs; discuss how to implement and use a VBBD a strategy; and review published studies showing the effect of VBBD strategies on health plan expenditures and population health.

In addition to the seminar, the Nevada Business Group on Health also offers a toolkit for employers who want to learn more about VBBD, and serves as a resource for publications and articles to

help employers understand commonly used VBBD strategies such as incentives for completion of health risk assessments, biometric screenings, and participation in lifestyle and wellness programs.

To learn more about the NVBGH seminar and resources, or to register, please call (775) 329-8007 or email the NVBGH at tlightfoot@nvbgh.org.

NVBGH was originally formed in 1995 as a partnership between large public employers and private employers to do group contracting with area hospitals and physicians. NVBGH and its management company Nevada Health Partners (NHP) now represent approximately 30,000 lives from employer members including Atlantis Casino-Resort-Spa, Baldini’s Sports Casino, Carson Nugget, Carson Tahoe Health Systems, City of Reno, City of Sparks, Click Bond, Club Cal Neva, Diocese of Reno, Eldorado Hotel Casino, John Ascuaga’s Nugget, Lakeside Inn and Casino, NV Energy, Peppermill Resort-Spa-Casino, Silver Legacy Resort, Washoe County, and Washoe County School District.

For more information about NVBGH, visit www.nvbgh.org, or call (775) 329-8007. For media inquiries, contact Tanya Merslich at tmerslich@vnvbgh.org.