Intel Corporation
Intel’s vision is to have the healthiest workforce on the planet and make health care a strategic business and talent-acquisition advantage for the company. After a decade of applying the usual levers to improve our employees’ health and contain rising health care costs, Intel believes that it is time for employers to work more directly to transform the payment and delivery systems for health care.
In an innovative program in partnership with Presbyterian Healthcare Services (PHS), Intel has engaged directly and deeply in benefit design, plan design and delivery optimization for employees and dependents at our Rio Rancho, NM, facility. Intel and PHS have established a custom integrated delivery system model of shared risks and rewards — essentially an employer-sponsored accountable care organization based on a patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model — that aims to give Intel employees more personalized, evidence-based and coordinated care. This program, called “Connected Care,” moves beyond fee-for-service models to more effectively incent desired behaviors and results. Connected Care is a demonstration of sustainable, system-wide changes that can improve access to high-quality, efficient and affordable care.
Connected Care went live as an operational health plan and delivery system for Intel employees in New Mexico on January 1, 2013. Intel is now establishing PCMH pilots with local providers in other regions to more fully engage employees in managing their health and transforming system delivery.
The experiences of Intel and PHS show that employers and providers can be effective partners in advancing a transformation in health care. Providers can gain enthusiastic partners who share their commitment to efficient, high-quality health care delivery and will align payment incentives to achieve it.
Putting health care costs on a more sustainable footing can strengthen U.S. competitiveness in a global economy. Improvements in the health and health care experiences of employees can increase job satisfaction, loyalty and quality of life. Forward-looking health plans can support collaboration by focusing on innovation and added value. Health care solutions providers and platform providers can help by committing to interoperable data standards and rapid innovation. Intel and PHS encourage employers and delivery services to engage in hands-on collaboration focused on a more sustainable, high-quality health care system. We have much to teach each other — and American workers have much to gain.