HMO Makes In-House Calls With New Program

Copyright 2010 Los Angeles Business Journal AssociatesAll Rights Reserved Los Angeles Business Journal

February 15, 2010

LENGTH: 810 words

HEADLINE: HMO Makes In-House Calls With New Program

BYLINE: DEBORAH CROWE

The Southern California region of Kaiser Permanente has launched a workplace health experiment that has the potential to further cement its relationships with large business clients.The Pasadena-based unit of Kaiser in January opened a workplace clinic at California Steel Industries that is open to all 900 workers and their families - not just the 60 percent of employees who are Kaiser members.Kaiser, which traditionally only provides care at its own separate facilities, beat out several other bidders for the California Steel contract to establish an in-house clinic. It may promote the concept to other workplaces if the pilot is successful at the Fontana mill."We're trying lots of innovative ways to reach out to people, to be proactive in getting people to address many critical health care issues," said Dr. Benjamin Chu, Kaiser's regional president.California Steel is providing the building and will cover the $20 office visit co-pay for at least the first year for all employees.Kaiser may very well see additional employees sign up for its HMO service as a result, but the steel mill maintains that its motivation was quite different."We don't see this as a Kaiser recruitment tool. We were more interested in providing more opportunities for our employees to get preventative health care," said Brett Guge, California Steel's executive vice president for finance. "In the long run, we'll have healthier people and save the company money and our people a lot of problems in their lives."In addition to the California Steel clinic, SoCal Kaiser later this spring plans to launch a mobile clinic van that will travel to workplaces with large numbers of members.

Chu said both clinics are part of the "proactive office encounter" initiative that began in his region and has expanded to other Kaiser markets.The initiative involves accessing data from the HMO's electronic health records system - which Kaiser spent $1 billion to develop over the last several years - to identify members who can be encouraged to get screenings or sign up for preventive health programs. The system allows Kaiser to send phone or e-mail messages to encourage visits.In other Kaiser news last week, the Southern California region became the first and only California HMO to achieve the highest possible rankings for both national standards of care and member satisfaction in the California Office of the Patient Advocate's annual Health Care Quality Report Card. Wilson Joins BoardFormer Gov. Pete Wilson agreed last week to join the board of U.S. HealthWorks, a Valencia company that has grown to be the nation's second largest operator of occupational health care centers through an aggressive acquisition strategy."I am looking forward to working with the leadership of U.S. HealthWorks as the firm enters a new growth phase," said Wilson in a statement. "As a partner in helping employers maintain healthy and productive work forces, the company plays an important role in the American economy."U.S. HealthWorks wasn't even a California company three years ago, but it has deep ties with the onetime GOP presidential hopeful through Chief Executive Daniel Crowley, who moved the company from Georgia in late 2007.The ties began when Crowley was chief executive of Southern California hospital operator Foundation Health Corp. in the 1980s. In those days, Crowley became friendly with Wilson, then a U.S. senator. A lot of Wilson's ideas about health care, and governing the state and country resonated with Crowley, who became a firm supporter of the governor and his aborted 1996 bid for the Republican presidential nomination.So when Crowley had an opening on his board this year, he called in a favor with Wilson, who since leaving Sacramento has been involved in law, investment banking and a variety of conservative foundations and think tanks in Los Angeles."I always thought he'd make a terrific president and his views on health care reform really resonated," said Crowley, whose company now has 155 clinics and work site centers in 15 states. "We've been growing like a weed and he'll be a great asset to our board."IPC ExpansionIPC the Hospitalist Company Inc. said it bought the Tucson, Ariz., hospitalist practice of Arizona Medical Services P.C.Also known as Old Pueblo Medical Consultants, the practice has doctors at 22 skilled nursing facilities and four assisted living facilities.IPC, a North Hollywood-based physician group practice company with operations in 21 states, primarily has its practices in hospitals but has been expanding into other types of care facilities.Staff reporter Deborah Crowe can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 232.

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