Only 5 percent of employers are actively pursuing bundled care initiatives, and all of those are companies with more than 1,000 employees, according to a recent report from Booz & Co.
Booz & Co. surveyed 64 organizations that varied in size: 11 had more than 1,000 employees, nine had between 100 and 1,000 and 44 had workforces of fewer than 100 people. Most of the larger employers were self-insured, smaller ones were typically fully insured and more than 65 percent of respondents covered at least half of employees' premiums.
Here are employers' responses to the question, "How interested would your company be in pursuing a 'care bundle' arrangement?" The survey was conducted in October 2012 and published in July.
• We are already pursuing care bundles or a similar arrangement — 5 percent
• Very interested — 16 percent
• Somewhat interested — 50 percent
• Not interested — 30 percent
"Neither the small number of respondents actively engaged in bundled care nor their size should come as a surprise," according to the study authors. "These are most likely regional and even national-scale employers that are self-insured, experienced in participating in benefit design and usually partnered with a national-level payer/intermediary."
The authors also said the 80 percent of employers that are somewhat or not interested in bundles is hardly surprising, either. "If nothing else, they are probably far more worried about whether and how to afford to continue offering coverage to their workforces," according to the report.
More Articles on Bundled Payments:
CMS Bundled Payment Initiative Consideration Period to Close July 31
Number of Providers With Risk-Based Contracts More Than Doubles Since 2011
Bundling Without Fumbling: How Transparency Fits in Value-Based Payments