Study by SAS and Duke University finds on-site health care center lowers claims costs
SAS spent almost $600 less in claims per primary care patient over a 3-year study period
Primary care users of the SAS Health Care Center (HCC) saved the company up to $600 each in health plan claims costs over three years. A study by analytics leader SAS and Duke University, just published in The American Journal of Managed Care, examined the usage and claims costs for three categories of SAS employees and their dependents: major users (designated HCC as their primary care), casual users (designated primary care providers outside HCC, but used other HCC services at least once), and nonusers.
“Our goal was to find out if our HCC primary care patients used fewer SAS health plan dollars than employees and dependents that use other providers,” said Gale Adcock, Chief Health Officer at SAS. “The answer was a resounding ‘yes.’ A bonus was that we were able to conduct this research of a complex database using the power of SAS®data management and analytics.”
The Phase I study, Worksite Medical Home: Health Services Use and Claim Costs, examined 2006-2008 claims and demographic data of more than 17,000 employees and dependents covered by the SAS health plan.
Key findings
- Dependents using the HCC that were major users incurred $598 less in claims costs than casual users and $330 less than nonusers who were also dependents. This included costs for preventive care.
- Employees using the HCC that were casual users had $482 more in claims costs than HCC major users. Most of the difference ($263) was for pharmaceutical expenses.
- Health plan claims costs were highest for casual users of the HCC.
- HCC major users who were dependents had significantly fewer hospital admissions than nonusers.
- Pharmaceutical costs were significantly higher in the HCC casual user group relative to the HCC major user group.
- Claims costs of HCC major users (dependents and employees), were statistically lower than both of the other groups for preventive care.
Phase II of the study was just completed and examines whether HCC primary care patients have fewer avoidable ER visits and hospitalizations. Results have been finalized and a paper has been accepted for publication.
Adcock also noted, “We’re setting the standard for investing in employee health and well-being. The positive impact on employee health and cost savings makes this a worthwhile investment. Add to that the employee time and productivity benefit of having these services right on campus, and there’s no question that worksite health care is a powerful health and business model.”
The American Journal of Managed Care is a peer-reviewed publication dedicated to disseminating clinical information to managed care physicians, clinical decision makers, and other health care professionals.
Cary Conway
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About SAS
SAS is the leader in business analytics software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market. Through innovative solutions, SAS helps customers at more than 75,000 sites improve performance and deliver value by making better decisions faster. Since 1976 SAS has been giving customers around the world THE POWER TO KNOW®.
SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. ® indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright © 2015 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
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