Businesses aim to save $100M in health care costs by reducing emergency room visits
A group of 20 business organizations are launching an effort to save $100 million in health care costs by 2020 by reducing avoidable emergency room visits by 20 percent. The businesses are still figuring out their exact strategies. The first step will focus primarily on raising awareness among employees about the resources available for them to get care outside of the emergency room. “Our plan is to provide employers with a toolkit, which will include appropriate information communicated in plain English about the most appropriate sites for care, why that’s important, and how it impacts premiums,” said Eileen McAnneny, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. McAnneny is leading the coalition together with Richard Lord, president and CEO of Associated Industries of Massachusetts.