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Programs May Cut DCX Health Costs: Pilot Proves Successful for Automaker

Posted on: Friday, 7 April 2006, 06:00 CDT

By Katie Merx, Detroit Free Press

Apr. 7--The Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler AG hopes that in health care -- as in manufacturing -- if it gives employees the tools to focus on quality, its costs will come down.

By providing confidential one-on-one health coaching in the workplace as part of a recent 6-month pilot program, Chrysler improved the health of a test group of diabetic patients. It hasn't yet determined whether the program reduced health spending.

But like its fellow domestic automakers, that's a big part of the goal. Chrysler expects its health costs this year to reach $2.3 billion, a figure the company says is unsustainable. So it's employing work-site wellness programs with the hope that they will decrease acute health problems and thereby slow its rising health care spending.

The diabetes pilot program, called Driving DCX, screened 570 employees in Chrysler's Auburn Hills headquarters. Half of them were eligible for the program, and 126 enrolled. More than 75% of those who enrolled completed at least four individual coaching sessions with certified diabetes educators.

At the end of the pilot:

* The number of participants who had their blood sugar under control rose to 77% from 68% at the beginning of the program.

* Participants' cholesterol levels improved moderately, with 42% under control -- up from 39.5%.

* Participants whose weight was in a healthy range rose to 20.7% from 19.5%.

* Knowledge of diabetes and how to manage it improved 18.62%.

"We love the direction this program is taking us in," said Cyndy Parker, a registered nurse and Chrysler's healthy people initiatives manager. "Part of our philosophy is providing employees with ways to become healthier."

Matthew Walsh, associate vice president of Health Alliance Plan's Health Management Services, said the health plan is looking to expand the program to other locations and other employers.

"We all know it is the right thing to do," Walsh said. "This was a great opportunity to pilot the idea and prove it works."

Walsh expects to be able to quantify the financial return on investment by June and identify improvements in absenteeism and productivity due to improved diabetic health by the end of the year.

"Cost reduction is important for the Chrysler Group," said Kate Kohn-Parrott, Chrysler Group's director of integrated health care and disability.

It also makes sense that improving worker health and reducing their need for acute care would reduce health costs, she said.

Other employers have demonstrated savings from focusing on diabetic health. The City of Asheville, N.C., reduced the average annual cost of care for diabetic workers by $2,000 per person as soon as it started paying the whole cost of diabetes drugs. And Pitney Bowes Inc. has saved more than $1 million each year since it cut employees' copays for diabetes, hypertension and asthma drugs.

Diabetic patients are some of the most expensive American medical patients and their numbers are growing. The federal Centers for Disease Control reports that 14.6 million Americans were diagnosed with diabetes in 2005, up from 12 million in 2000 and 6.7 million in 1990.

Nationally, the average annual health costs for a diabetic were $13,243 in 2002, compared with the average medical costs for non-diabetics of $2,560, according to the American Diabetes Association.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Detroit Free Press

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Source: Detroit Free Press

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