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eValue8 Health Plan Evaluations

The Indiana Employers Quality Health Alliance, on behalf of its members,
collaborated with local health plans in a rigorous evaluation of the plans from January
through March 2005. Only two Indiana health plans, Anthem and M-Plan, participated
in this effort which used eValue8 - a nationally recognized health care purchasing
and quality improvement tool developed by coalitions - to help health plans better
understand the needs and desires of employers and to help members buy health care
better.

Using a standard request for information, eValue8 asks health plans to submit
information about clinical quality and administrative efficiency so purchasers can
compare plans against one another and against national benchmarks. Hundreds of
benchmarks are gathered in critical areas (listed and discussed in detail later in this
report.) Once the health plans have electronically submitted their data, a certified
eValue8 scoring team verifies the information to ensure that all the information is
accurate and comparable. Purchasers take the information to meetings with each of
the health plans to discuss strengths, best practices and opportunities for improvement.
Employers working through coalitions also use the information to discuss
community-wide opportunities for health improvement through collaboration.

Employers ultimately use the information gathered through eValue8 - the comparative
charts and the knowledge gained through the site visits - to compare value, based on
their own selection criteria. Some employers use the information to negotiate pricing
with health plans. Some employers use the information to set employee premiums,
with higher quality health plans costing less. And equally important to pricing,
employers working with coalitions use the information and the subsequent feedback
with health plans as a unique opportunity to stimulate market-wide improvements in
health care quality.

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Wider use and increased efficiency through a new partnership
Initially offered exclusively to National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH) members,
eValue8 is expanding its scope and influence through an official partnership with
Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a leading human capital consulting firm. Starting in 2005,
Watson Wyatt and NBCH will conduct a joint annual national health plan survey using
eValue8 and will disseminate the data collected to their participating Watson Wyatt
clients and NBCH member coalitions. IEQHA members are automatically included in
this process.

Background
The eValue8 tool was created
through collaboration between
concerned health care purchasers.

Ten years ago, several coalitions
and large employers across the
country gathered to develop a way
where purchasers could buy health
care and evaluate health plans
based on real value, not just on
price.

The concept of quality was
introduced and has become the
overarching principle in the
eValue8 buying process. More
than 100 health plans across the
country now participate in this
process.

In 2005, Anthem and M-Plan
participated in Indiana.