WASHINGTON – Dec. 5, 2018 – The National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions (National Alliance), a nonprofit organization of purchaser-led business and health coalitions, honored UnitedHealth Group with the 2018 eValue8™ Innovation Award.
The award recognizes the innovative work and measurable results of health plans that participate in eValue8, the National Alliance’s resource used by purchasers to measure and evaluate health plan and pharmacy benefit manager quality and performance.
“It’s refreshing to see the number of innovative programs submitted for consideration this year that are truly making a measurable impact on employee health and productivity,” said Michael Thompson, president and CEO of the National Alliance. “Given our focus on mental health and substance use disorders, we’re encouraged by the efforts of these health plans to develop innovative solutions to these growing issues.”
UnitedHealth Group received the award for its Opioid Use/Risk Management program. The comprehensive initiative focuses on preventing misuse by educating care providers and consumers on the proper use of opioids, minimizing early exposure, and promoting alternative treatments for pain while advancing best practices for prescribing and using these highly-addictive medications.
The Opioid Use/Risk Management program strives to ensure proper treatment for patients struggling with opioid use disorder or addiction; connects health plan participants to evidenced-based treatment in their communities; and offers personal support for long-term recovery. Results include increased compliance by prescribers with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, significant reductions in opioid prescriptions, reduction in the average morphine-equivalent dosage for first fill, and lower likelihood of progressing from short-term acute use to longer-term chronic opioid use.
“The opioid epidemic touches every community and neighborhood we serve,” said Dr. Richard Migliori, M.D., chief medical officer of UnitedHealth Group. “We’re honored to be recognized with the 2018 eValue8™ Innovation Award for improving outcomes in our communities and engaging patients, prescribers and pharmacies across the entire care continuum through our Opioid Use/Risk Management program.”
Anthem, Cigna and Regence were recognized as finalists for their innovative programs engaging consumers and physicians in mental health and substance use disorders.
Anthem was acknowledged for its Aware Recovery Care program, a year-long program that treats addiction as a chronic disorder and brings the intensive care of a rehab setting into the home. Cigna was recognized for its program that decreased opioid usage by 25 percent, one year ahead of goal. And Regence was acknowledged for its program to decrease avoidable emergency room visits for plan participants with behavioral health issues and to identify those who would benefit from ongoing outpatient services.
About eValue8
eValue8 was created by business coalitions and employers to measure and evaluate plan performance. eValue8 asks health vendors probing questions about how they manage critical processes that control costs, reduce and eliminate waste, ensure patient safety, close gaps in care and improve health and health care. Through these efforts the National Alliance has develop deep dive assessments related to health plans around mental health and substance use disorders, oncology and pharmacy benefits management.
About National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions
The National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions (National Alliance) is a nonprofit network of business coalitions, representing more than 12,000 purchasers and 45 million Americans, spending more than $300 billion annually on healthcare. The National Alliance is dedicated to driving innovation, health, and value along with its coalition members through the collective action of public and private purchasers. To learn more, visit nationalalliancehealth.org, connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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