Brian Klepper
Several critical value-based programs have come together through the Health Value Institute’s acquisition and revitalization of The Validation Institute (VI).
First is the VI’s original validation process, which evaluates the credibility of a vendor’s performance claims through examination of external literature, data sources, data and performance calculation methods. In that sense, the validation credential should convey to purchasers that actual performance will approximate the vendor’s performance claims, and that validation can shortcut the purchaser’s additional due diligence efforts, saving time and money.
Second is the Health Value Awards (HVA) program, which was developed through the World Congress but has now been reassigned to the VI. The Health Value Awards go a step beyond the validation process by asking whether a vendor’s results (or an employer’s in-house benefits program) is superior when compared to other offerings in the same space.
While VI validation reviews the credibility of the performance calculation methodology, the HVAs ask whether the program is viable in the market. Are clients experienced with it willing to provide testimonials? Is it scalable? Are its impacts enduring or, said another way, does it continue to deliver consistent results over time? Is the vendor confident enough in its capabilities that it will financially guarantee results?
And then, a couple of measures of art. How important is the problem being addressed, in the sense that, say, curing cancer outweighs managing allergies? And how creative or elegant is the solution, as gauged by deeply experienced health care experts?
Obviously, the goals here are to identify, vet and showcase organizations that are truly high performing managers of clinical, financial and administrative health care risk, so that purchasers have an alternative to the typically far lower value services that are offered through the conventional health system.
A community comprised primarily of purchasers (employers and unions), benefits advisers and high performance vendors has developed around the principles of high performance. This newsletter, Valid Points, tries to serve as a unifying principle and source of high quality information in this space, and is aimed at this rapidly growing, increasingly coalesced group.
The larger aspiration supported by this multi-pronged effort is embodied in our belief that self-insured employers and unions, who, over time, shift their health plans to use of validated high performance vendors in high value niches, who incentivize provider transparency and employee value-seeking, can realize profound health outcomes and cost savings. Meaningfully scaling these approaches could precipitate powerfully positive changes in how US health care works. We believe employers and unions that seriously pursue this path can save up to 20 percent in Year 1 and 40 percent by Year 5. We’ve termed this The 20:1-40:5 Campaign, shorthand for our organizations’ missions and the programming that supports them.
Our pledge is to work to facilitate these kinds of health care changes, and to support your efforts to do so as well.
Brian Klepper is Executive Analyst and Editor at The Validation Institute.
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Dave Chase: My Why
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