During his most recent address to the nation, President Obama spoke about the crushing weight of employer health care costs, and its effects on the nation’s economy. Employers currently spend more than $390 billion per year on employee health care, with annual health care costs significantly exceeding the overall rate of inflation. It’s one of the major reasons why businesses close their doors and corporations eliminate jobs. The cost of health care is an issue we know well, and was a motivating factor that led to Concentra developing what we call our TotalCare solution.

With rising health care costs and waning confidence in managed care’s ability to be effective, TotalCare is a new approach to employer-based health plans that lowers costs without limiting the level of coverage or quality of care for patients. TotalCare is more about changing behavior, not simply reducing costs. While managed care was designed to do just that – manage patient care – in many cases it uses a cookie-cutter approach to all health care offerings. And true patient care has been nearly eliminated as a result.

In contrast, TotalCare begins by understanding the unique needs of each employer’s workforce, the available resources, and the goals of each employer to design a program that’s tailored to meet their individual needs. We utilize an employer’s existing resources and our nationwide reach to deliver health care services directly to patients, where they work. Yet plan design alone can’t ensure measurable change, so we also create a defined strategy for each employer that includes education, communication, promotion, incentives, and leadership support to maximize results for employers and a positive health care experience for employees.

Knowing that no two people are alike, we use personalized information and Concentra’s entire suite of services to design a comprehensive health management offering for each patient. Through the guidance of our affiliated physicians, medical experts, and health coaches, we help employees become engaged participants. And with a focused approach on mitigating health crises, managing existing ones, and utilizing resources best matched for each employer, we help create successful outcomes for both client and patient.

I know that other companies have recently begun providing health care solutions to employers by using a retail health clinic model in the workplace, or referring employees to a drug store health center. It’s a great entry to health care and may be just right for some employers, but the limited services are unable to address or care for greater, more important (and costly) medical issues. Fixing health care can’t be achieved through a quick fix.

We know that reforming health care isn’t a one-step process, but requires a multi-disciplined approach. By changing the way we look at health issues, we can begin to discover new ways to solve the health crisis. It’s the same thinking behind our TotalCare solution that’s transforming employer health care and improving the health of employees in companies across the country. We want to provide our clients with best-in-class solutions to protect and care for their greatest asset – their employees.