Executive announces dramatic health care savings

On September 20, King County Executive Dow Constantine announced that we are able to reduce health care budgets by $23 million in 2011 and $38 million in 2012, and to redirect the savings to preserve services that would otherwise have been cut thanks to lower than expected employee health care costs.

Six years ago management and labor, through the Joint Labor Management Insurance Committee, negotiated a landmark contract and entered into an agreement creating the Healthy Incentives^SM program. At that time, no other labor/management group in the country had been able to take such a collaborative approach and adopt such an innovative strategy for reducing rising health care costs. The following year, in 2006, we took our first wellness assessment.

After six years we have the data to show that our efforts are paying off. We are older, but healthier, sharing more of the cost of health care but getting greater value for our dollar. We are using health care in smarter ways and as an organization we have banded with others through the Puget Sound Health Alliance to begin to fix health care in our region. Against a backdrop of rapidly escalating health care costs in our country, these achievements are truly remarkable.

Here’s a snapshot of what we have accomplished:

From 2005 – 2009:

• The county spent $26 million less than expected on health care costs.
• Employees improved their health in 12 out of 14 areas. Around 500 people quit smoking and more than 2,000 lost enough weight to see health improvements.
• Health improvements have corresponded to lower healthcare utilization. For example, the smoking rate among employees has gone down and we have seen claims for smoking related illnesses go down: bronchitis, pneumonia and other smoking related illnesses.

In 2010 we started paying a greater share of our health care costs and engaged in a new benefit plan that emphasizes quality health care and not overpaying..

• By choosing generics over brand name drugs, we have saved the county $3 million from 2010 to now.
• Our membership in Group Health has grown from 18 percent to 26 percent. Group Health costs the county approximately $4,000 less per year per employee and has the highest quality ratings of any health care provider in the region.

Executive Constantine was joined by many of the Health Heroes who have been honored in the Health Matters Newsletter over the past 6 years. (watch the media conference)