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6 Doctors Rewarded for Diabetes Program
By Debbie Kelley the Gazette
An experimental program to help people better manage their diabetes — and thereby drive down health care costs
— is paying off for six doctors of Mountain View Medical Group.
Tonight (April 25, 2007), at the Garden of the Gods Club, two health-insurance companies and eight local employers representing
50,000 employees will reward each physician with a cash bonus of $200 to $1,400.
“We’re thrilled to have seen so much dedication on the part of physicians in Colorado Springs to improve care
for patients with diabetes,” said Donna Marshall, executive director of the Colorado Business Group on Health.
For the past year, Colorado Springs has been a test market for a pilot program sponsored by two organizations:
the Colorado Business Group on Health, a statewide coalition of about 50 employers that work on improving health care;
and the National Committee for Quality Assurance, a private nonprofit Washington, D.C., group that sets standards of
care for diseases such as diabetes and accredits doctors who meet the benchmarks.
To receive the bonus money and national accreditation, the doctors had to monitor diabetes patients’ more
closely than doctors typically do. They regularly checked such things as blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol
levels and eye health, and helped patients change their lifestyles to become healthier.
People who have diabetes often are at risk for a host of complications, including loss of eyesight and limbs
and strokes. Those complications can lead to emergency room or hospital visits — costly for employers and employees.
The six doctors who qualified for the bonuses are family practice doctors and members of Mountain View
Medical Group, which has 50 health care providers in 13 locations.
Members wanted to participate because the program is in line with the group’s vision of providing “excellence
inspired by compassion,” said Dr. Douglas Clark, medical director. The program’s guidelines for treating diabetes
patients enable patients to stay healthier, he said, and measure physicians for the quality of care they’re providing.
Meeting the standards “imparts significant peer recognition for the doctors,” he said.
Doctors were eligible to receive a $100 award per patient, paid by participating employers and insurers.
“Both employers and health plans realize there’s a return on this investment — patients in this program will
spend less time in hospitals and emergency rooms as a result of health management and will miss less work due to
illness,” Marshall said.
The pilot program, called Bridges to Excellence, is saving Colorado College money, said David Lord, retired
business manager for the school and local program chairman.
“It’s costing the college less than $5,000 a year in administrative costs and doctor bonuses, and if we prevent
just one person from having a serious illness we’ve paid back the cost of the program,” he said.
Colorado College has about 33 employees with diabetes, of an insured work force of 625, he said.
On average, 4 percent of the nation’s work force has diabetes, Marshall said. Local employers did not know
which employees were taking part in the program, she said, to protect patient privacy.
Increases in the college’s health care premiums have slowed, Lord said, which is in part due to the diabetes
program and other efforts, such as employee health fairs.
“Having a healthy work force is important to our economy and the economic development of the community — one
of the biggest problems in business is the cost of health care,” he said.
The diabetes initiative has been so successful in its first year in Colorado that it is being expanded, Marshall
said.
Three health-insurance plans have joined this year’s program, and Marshall expects about 30 local doctors to
qualify for the next round of financial rewards.
In 2008, Marshall said the pay-for-performance program will broaden outside Colorado Springs and open to the
Front Range.
It also will include workers who have cardiovascular disease.
DIABETES PROGRAM
Participating employers for 2006-2007 diabetes program
- The City of Colorado Springs
- The Colorado College
- Colorado Springs School District 11
- Colorado Springs Utilities
- El Paso County
- Intel
- Memorial Health System
- Penrose-St. Francis Health Services
Participating insurers
- Great West Healthcare
- Rocky Mountain Health Plans
Publication:The Colorado Springs Gazette; Date:Apr 25, 2007; Section:Business; Page Number:39
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