Four recipients win The Alliance Health Transformation Award

MADISON, Wis. (May 18, 2018) ─ Four awards were given to organizations that have made significant contributions to transforming health care in their community when The Alliance held its Annual Seminar on May 17.

This year’s award recipients are:

• • Brakebush Brothers, Westfield, Wis.Brakebush Brothers has tapped into innovative health and wellness solutions to reduce costs and become the “employer of choice” in the area. The company has put together a package of services designed to save money while serving a wide range of health and wellness needs. This package includes:
    • An onsite clinic and physical therapy
    • A health care coordinator
    • Mobile screening services
    • A centers of excellence program
    • International pharmacy services
    • A well-rounded wellness program

    Brakebush Brothers is being recognized for exploring new approaches to delivering and
    paying for care. And for collaborating with other organizations to develop innovative
    solutions to significant health care problems.

  • National CooperativeRx, Madison, Wis.National CooperativeRx ensures that prescription benefits are provided to employees and their dependents in the most effective and efficient manner. The National CooperativeRx benefit and the corresponding pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) agreement is one of the most complex relationships that an employer has to manage. National CooperativeRx addresses this by negotiating with the PBM, overlaying their expertise, establishing clear expectations and accountability with the PBM and passing all those benefits on to their members.National CooperativeRx is being recognized for exploring new approaches to delivering and paying for care, as well as advancing our understanding of how to engage consumers in making better decisions about their care and collaborating with organizations to develop innovative solutions to significant health care problems.
  • Rice Lake Area School District, Rice Lake, Wis.Rice Lake Area School District is a great example of an organization that has disrupted local health care. Last year, they were faced with a 28 percent rate increase and they knew they needed to switch things up by offering individualized low-cost, high-quality options. The district chose to follow a consumer-focused path where enrollees must engage in their health care decisions by choosing between traditional choices or low cost/high quality options. Today the district health plan includes:
    • Medical tourism
    • Telemedicine
    • Reference-based pricing
    • Personal care navigators
    • Onsite clinic

    Rice Lake Area School District is being recognized for multiple reasons including exploring new approaches to delivering and paying for care; improving the quality of care using a systematic, process-oriented approach that can be adapted by other organizations. And for collaborating with other organizations to develop innovative solutions to significant health care problems; advancing our understanding of how to engage consumers in making better decisions about their care; and providing extraordinary leadership among employers related to health benefits.

  • Smart Choice MRI, Chicago, Ill.Smart Choice MRI is working to change the way services are provided by offering quality imaging that gives consumers a decision and an option to lower the costs for their own care. Smart Choice MRI offers affordable services at a set price, so there are no surprises. They use advanced technology with scans read by leading radiologists. They also offer convenient, flexible hours to work around consumer schedules and customer service is always a priority. Smart Choice is being recognized for exploring new approaches to delivering and paying for care. They are also advancing our understanding of how to engage consumers in making better decisions about their care and collaborating with other organizations to develop innovative solutions to significant health care problems.

The Alliance moves health care forward by controlling costs, improving quality, and engaging individuals in their health. Members include more than 240 self-funded employers and insurance trusts covering more than 85,000 individuals in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa. The Alliance uses the purchasing power of cooperative members to negotiate with and provide access to an extensive network of doctors and hospitals paid to improve quality by performing better not doing more.