eValue8 RFI Tool

eValue8 2009: Measuring Progress Toward Value-Based Purchasing

Chair, eValue8 Committee of VBCH Victoria Lucente Assistant Superintendent for Budget and Finance Chesapeake Public Schools lucenvro@cps.k12.va.us Click Here to see Ms. Lucente's eValue8 presentation Spring2008

Locally, the Virginia Business Coalition on Health, as a member of the National Business Group on Health (NBCH), funded by a sub-set of VBCH members, in 2006 introduced the NBCH's eValue8 RFI Tool to Virginia, which provided national HMO and PPO benchmarks as well as health plan performance data on a total of 9 health plans in Virginia:

Anthem HMO*	Optima HMO*	Kaiser
Anthem PPO*	Optima PPO*	Care First
CIGNA Healthcare HMO*	MAMSI	Aetna Mid Atlantic

TESTIMONIAL:

"The results from the 2006 eValue8 RFI inspired me and my fellow employers to rally up additional employers....won't you join us?" Click here for Bob Cramer's PowerPoint Presentation

 

 

 

NBCH and eValue8 - designed to simplify a complex process

"Purchasing health care for your organization is a complex undertaking. Employers seeking to provide health care to workers and dependents have a great number and variety of options available to them. In any given market, there could be several health maintenance organzations (HMOs), a number of prefered provider organizations (PPOs), and one or more consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs). Evaluating and choosing among these options requires considerable time and effort. Seeking to simplify the process, the National business Coalition on Health (NBCH) has worked over the past ten years with a great number of health care organizations and experts in the health care purchasing to develop the eValue8™ tool. eValue8 is a common request for information (RFI) that employers use to examine and compare the performance of more than 250 health plans nationwide...." by Andrew Webber, President and Chief Executive Officer, National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH), Washington, DC.

Read more: eValue8 Health Care 2006     Download the eValue8 Brochure

VBCH & NBCH - Meeting the Four Cornerstones through eValue8 Click Here for full report

The National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH) is a non-profit organization of employer-based health coalitions committed to finding innovative ways to enhance and strengthen the capacity of its members to improve the quality and affordability of health care. In addition to acting as a vehicle for its members to introduce Leapfrog and Bridges to Excellence in their communities, NBCH owns and maintains eValue8, a health plan performance tracking program that addresses all four cornerstones.

Cornerstone #1: Interoperability of Health Information – Health plans are a primary source of health information ranging from eligibility and claims transactions to performance measurement of doctors and hospitals. The eValue8 Request for Information (RFI) captures not only the five Template RFI elements contained in Appendix D of this guide**, but assesses the internal coordination of the plan’s rich sources of information to engage consumers and improve member health through mechanisms such as disease management programs, personal health records, and objective treatment choice information.

Cornerstone #2: Transparency of Quality – eValue8 determines in measure-specific detail the quality information that each plan uses. AQA, HQA and other important measures are listed in their entirety and plans are scored according to whether these standard measures are used for benchmarked feedback to providers, consumer reporting and/or incentives.

Cornerstone #3: Transparency of Price – eValue8 determines each plan’s approach to price transparency. Detailed distinctions are recorded, including whether cost estimates are provider-specific or based on market averages, and whether plans are able to assist consumers in determining the likely costs for episodes of care rather than just procedure-specific information. Further information is captured for high deductible/HSA plans, where price transparency is especially important.

Cornerstone #4: Incentives for High-Value Health Care – In its Provider Module eValue8 distinguishes three forms of  incentives for superior performance and expects that plans report their impact: periodic rewards to providers, differential payment schedules and consumer incentives through plan design (i.e., lower copayments/deductibles for selection of higher performing providers). The form, magnitude and performance basis of the incentives (e.g., efficiency, quality, health information technology, etc.) are also determined. eValue8 also examines high deductible/HSA plans, which in themselves are one vehicle for heightening consumer awareness and  engagement in health care decisions. eValue8 assesses the plan’s capabilities, consumer support and coordination of resources for high deductible/HSA plans.

**To read the full report, Click here

 

For more information about eValue8, visit www.nbch.org