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Small Business Human Resources Workforce Development Your Questions Answered Success Stories

February 2007 — Vol. 85, No. 1

Online tool helps employers

Calculate savings from improved health care quality

 

A free, online Quality Dividend Calculator (QDC) from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) demonstrates that choosing high-quality health plans frequently results in lower health care costs and improved worker productivity. The QDC has data about clinical performance, disease prevalence, employee wages and other information that helps determine the return on investment when purchasers contract with high-quality plans.

The calculator uses quality data to estimate the number of sick days and lost productivity resulting from illness. Employers can plug in unique information about their company and receive detailed estimates of potential savings.

“When it comes to health care, better is often less expensive. ... The QDC makes the business case for quality in terms that everyone can understand — dollars and cents,” said NCQA President Margaret E. O’Kane.

The QDC considers the following health conditions, each of which has a substantial indirect cost when poorly treated or cared for: alcohol dependency and substance abuse, asthma, chicken pox, depression, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and smoking.