PRINCETON, NJ (December 8, 2005) - The APEX Management Group, a leading healthcare actuarial consulting organization, announced today the launch of a new assessment capability that will allow employers to evaluate the cost effectiveness of disease management programs. APEX, based in Princeton, NJ, is a division of Gallagher Benefit Services, Inc.
"Over the last few years, employers have been adding various disease management programs in an effort to help manage the cost of their healthcare benefit programs," said Barry Rosenfeld, a senior consultant at APEX. "Now, virtually every employer with a disease management program is questioning whether these programs are saving money and having an impact on their workers."
At the heart of APEX´s new capability are its proprietary predictive modeling and forecasting tools which are used to identify the extent of real cost savings attributable to an employer´s disease management program.
"Until now, employers have relied on potentially biased performance and savings data produced by a disease management program vendor to try and evaluate cost savings," said Rosenfeld. "Our approach ensures that benefit managers receive a completely independent analysis of whether real savings occurred and whether any are the result of the disease management vendor´s interventions."
The APEX program involves analyzing the claims and medical resource use of disease management participants who were covered by an employer´s medical program for at least 12 months prior to joining the disease management program. These costs are analyzed both before and after the start of the disease management program. In addition, the participant group´s costs are compared with a second group of workers who do not participate in the disease management program but who closely match the health status and demographics of the program participants.
"Measuring the return on investment in a disease management program is becoming a top priority for many employers," said Rosenfeld. "There´s no question that these programs can potentially have an enormous impact on the health and productivity of a company´s workforce as well as its bottom line. However, if employers can´t prove real cost savings, it is only a matter of time before the popularity of disease management as an effective cost control tool diminishes."
For more information about the APEX disease management ROI cost savings analysis program, visit www.apexmgmt.com or call 609-452-2488.
About APEX Management Group
APEX Management Group, a division of Gallagher Benefit Services, Inc., is a consulting organization that specializes in actuarial, underwriting, claims management and audit services. The firm´s clients include organizations in the insurance industry, as well as employers, governmental entities, and other risk assumption entities. APEX provides services worldwide and has offices throughout the United States. For more information, please visit www.apexmgmt.com
Media Contact:
Ed Emerman
Eagle Public Relations
eemerman[at]eaglepr.com
609-452-5967
Source: HRmarketer.com