Dive Brief:
- According to a Bloomberg News report, hospitals are offering big discounts to employers willing to contract directly with them for services.
- In some situations, hospitals will drop prices up to 40% for the right direct contracting deal, according to Terry White, president of Denver-based benefit manager BridgeHealth Medical.
- The Cleveland Clinic is particularly skilled at striking such deals; it has partnerships with more than half a dozen large employers, according to Bloomberg. For example, in a deal with Lowe's struck in 2011, the health system offers bundled pricing for heart surgery, in which it delivers all services for such surgery under one negotiated price.
Dive Insight:
The Cleveland Clinic offers an example of how bundled pricing can work for all of the stakeholders involved, something we see too seldom in efforts to restructure the health system. Unfortunately, however, its success does not mean that just any health system can master bundled care overnight. Realistically, it will be many years before most health systems have the financial and operational know-how to deliver such care under this model effectively.