ALTERING THE LANDSCAPE OF HEALTH BENEFITS: THE CECHCR STORY

After twenty years of education, advocacy, and tremendous success, the CECHCR Project will be transitioning effective April 1, 2024, due to the retirement of its staff and the closure of CCS, its sponsoring organization.  A full range of services utilizing the CECHCR Approach, we are very pleased to announce, will be continuing on under The Volition Group at the direction of CECHCR expert Matt Bittner.

A MESSAGE FROM CECHCR PRESENT & FUTURE:

THE CECHCR STORY CONTINUED…

In 2003, Janet Walden, CEO of the Center for Collaborative Solutions (CCS), Ruben Ingram, Executive Director of the School Employers Association (SEAC) and Neil Bodine of Beeson, Tayer and Bodine attended a labor-management cooperation conference sponsored by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). FMCS is a federal agency that provides mediation of labor disputes and guidance to employers and unions on topics of collaboration. In 2003, every strike in the U.S. was over the cost of health insurance, so there was a lot of conversation about the work employers and unions could advance collaboratively to address the healthcare costs and quality at the conference. 

Representing school employers, Ruben knew how contentious the cost of health insurance was in collective bargaining. Representing unions, Neil knew how rising health care costs were negatively impacting employees.  When Janet, Ruben and Neil returned to California, they reached out to employer associations/organizations and the unions that represent California’s public schools and community colleges, and pulled them together into a coalition to address this vital issue. Once funding was obtained from FMCS, this group of labor and management leaders—California Education Coalition for Health Care Reform—started work in earnest. After about a year of study and research, everyone agreed there was a great need for education on best practices on purchasing health insurance for public education employers and unions who wanted to collaborate, as well as health benefits committees who often make recommendations to their respective bargaining teams.

In addition to the initial FMCS grant, CECHCR’s work was made possible by generous grants from The California Endowment and The California HealthCare Foundation.  A second FMCS grant was also awarded to CCS to convert all of our CECHCR training programs from in-person to virtual.  CECHCR was also supported both financially and with tons of volunteer hours by coalition members Association of California School Administrators (ACSA), California Association of School Business Officials (CASBO), California Federation of Teachers (CFT), California School Boards Association (CSBA), California School Employees Association (CSEA), California Teachers Association (CTA), Community College League of California (CCLC), and School Employers Association of California (SEAC).

EDUCATION IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS

Several comprehensive training modules were developed on the Best Practices in Purchasing Health Insurance—via collaboration of health benefits experts and representatives of California’s school districts and unions with CCS staff. We are proud to report that CECHCR teams of labor and management representatives subsequently provided training and guidance to approximately 475 California school districts and community colleges—and effectively changed the landscape of health benefits purchasing for the better!

ELEVATING STANDARDS

Prior to CECHCR’s training programs, there were no protocols for transparency in broker/consultant compensation. Now, many more school districts are demanding contracts that pay insurance professionals based on a flat rate instead of a commission, and the flat-fee model is gaining traction across the country. Also prior to CECHCR’s programs, the bargaining parties didn’t know which purchasing options were available and the pros and cons of those options. CECHCR taught employers and employees on public education health benefits committees how to assess the quality of their health plans. And, how critical it is to check the market through the Request for Proposal (RFP) process to ensure they are getting the best quality health plans at the best price.

Thanks in large part to the role of CECHCR, the largest purchasing pools for California’s school districts and community colleges have experienced increased participation, leading to more rate stability and a simplified collective bargaining process.

Subsequent to its extensive education efforts, CECHCR then initiated a program to support individual districts and their unions to gain the best possible benefits at the lowest possible costs, even if it means making difficult decisions. The insurance industry has worked hard to make school districts less attractive to the larger market, frequently trapping them in their existing purchasing arrangements. CECHCR has been a leader in having difficult and sometimes unpopular conversations that ultimately lead to improved options for California districts and their employees.

PROVEN RESULTS

Over the past two decades, CECHCR has witnessed a lot of shenanigans by the insurance industry. Oh my, do we have stories!  In many cases, just by having CECHCR be a presence in a district, we have seen the broker/consultants come back to the table with rate reductions.  CECHCR has also been able to gain bids from the large purchasers when the broker/consultant told the district health benefits committee that there are no options available there. CECHCR has also been instrumental in bringing about cost containment without cost shifting because we have provided public education employers and their unions with assessment tools to compare their current health plans to other proposed options.

As a result of CECHCR’s work, we’ve saved California’s school districts, community colleges and their employees well in excess of $200 million, as well as helping to improve labor-management relationships and the collective bargaining environment throughout the state.

ADVOCACY

Because CECHCR’s consultants have regulatory and legislative backgrounds, we have been able to assist employees in obtaining correct payment of their claims, timely access to care, and kept the health plans accountable on cost containment measures. We’ve recouped over $500,000 in incorrect billing or claims payment for employees.

THE LEGACY CONTINUES

The federal Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) and other legislative efforts bring a new opportunity for transparency in broker/consultant renumeration. After the COVID pandemic, the healthcare marketplace is in disarray. There are proposals being proffered to further fragment the purchasing community and offer financial vehicles that have NO track record of success. 

Using The CECHCR Approach services with an Advisor that has NO financial interest in the outcome has never been more important. We are VERY pleased to announce that CECHCR expert Matt Bittner and his The Volition Group share CECHCR’s vision and goals and will be providing the needed analysis and education so that school employers and unions are able to make the best decisions on healthcare purchasing.