early work.
His book offers the reader a bird’s-eye view of the changes and innovations John shepherded at Serigraph. Like all good innovators, John keeps experimenting and has hits and misses. While I am not in total agreement with all that John has proposed for his workers (for example, I share his co-workers’ skepticism about medical tourism), clearly his focus on staff engagement is key to any health reform effort. This is a critical point whether at the work area or in the national reform agenda. His prescription offers insights into the winning strategy of empowering individuals to take an active role in managing their health. The focus on wellness, prevention, and end-of-life planning yield more impressive benefits than cost savings: some of John’s coworkers will no doubt live longer and live better because they were offered the right incentives and support to catch disease early or take steps to prevent it altogether.
John and I will continue to debate and argue over the best methods for lowering overall costs in the years ahead, but John’s heart is in the right direction. What he is looking for is what every CEO should be focusing on—how do we improve the health status of our workers while improving the cost and quality of health care services. I look forward to the thought-provoking discussions, and his readers will enjoy a thought-provoking book.”
—WILLIAM D. PETASNICK,
President and CEO, Froedtert & Community Health and
Former Chair of the American Hospital Association
“Serigraph’s focus, organizational commitment, and collaboration with its health plan administrator, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and providers of value in health care proves that there are innovative solutions for getting the hyper-inflation in health care under control. It’s not a blame game; it’s about individual engagement, transparency, and effective management.”
—STEVE MARTENET,
President of WellPoint Specialty Products and
Former President of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Wisconsin
How Companies Across America Are Dramatically Cutting Their Health Care Costs While Improving Care
John Torinus Jr.
BENBELLA BOOKS, INC.
DALLAS, TEXAS
Copyright © 2014 by John Torinus Jr.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. Portions of this work have appeared in the e-Book Opt Out on Obamacare, Opt Into the Private Health Care Revolution, by John Torinus, released in 2013 by BenBella Books, Inc.
BenBella Books, Inc.
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First e-book edition: April 2014
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Torinus, John, Jr., author.
The grassroots health care revolution : how companies across America are dramatically cutting their health care costs while improving care / by John Torinus.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-939529-72-5 (trade cloth : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-1-939529-73-2 (electronic)
I. Title.
[DNLM: 1. Health Benefit Plans, Employee—economics—United States. 2. Costs and Cost Analysis—economics—United States. 3. Health Care Reform—economics—United States. 4. National Health Insurance, United States—economics—United States. W 275 AA1]
RA412.3
368.38'2—dc23
2013041457
Editing by Debbie Harmsen
Proofreading by Rainbow Graphics and Greg Teague
Cover design by Ted Mauseth
Jacket design by Sarah Dombrowsky
Text design and composition by John Reinhardt Book Design
Printed by Bang Printing
Distributed by Perseus Distribution
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The march is on to a new business model for the delivery of health care in America. Actually, it is a race. This book is dedicated to the innovators, most of whom are in the private sector, who are putting the pieces into place for that disruptive model. Health costs are the biggest economic issue facing the country. So these innovators—many are featured in this book—are doing patriotic work. They are fixing a broken, unsustainable model.
CONTENTS
1 GO OR NO-GO UNDER OBAMACARE?
2 PRIVATE PAYERS FORGE DISRUPTIVE NEW BUSINESS MODEL
3 THREE-YEAR GAME PLAN CAN FLATLINE COMPANY HEALTH COSTS
4 SELF-INSURANCE: COMPANIES KEEP THEIR HEALTH
