AOL Reaps Benefits of Matria's Disease                Management Programs

As director of health and benefits at American Online (AOL), Jodi Fuller was surprised to see the company's healthcare costs continue to escalate significantly each year despite a young employee population. AOL has approximately 12,540 employees on the domestic side with an average age range of 34. A multibillion dollar company, AOL's escalating healthcare costs are a growing concern.

We are fortunate to have a data warehouse that compiles all of our healthcare vendor experience and provided me with an opportunity to take a more in-depth look at the drivers for the increases in medical and prescription costs, Jodi says. Amazingly, I discovered that 40 percent of our population had some type of chronic medical condition.

Jodi found that AOL employees and their dependants had an alarming incidence of diabetes and asthma. In addition, a growing portion of the claims, roughly 9 percent, showed that AOL's employees were receiving some kind of treatment for a mental health issue. Because AOL has a large number of women of child-bearing age, it was not a big shock to learn that 13 percent of AOL's claims were for pregnancies.

Now that I had the good fortune of knowing the key cost drivers, I then wanted a strategy to deal with our employees with those chronic conditions, Jodi says.

Upon advice from AOL's healthcare consultant, Jodi decided to implement disease management programs for the company's four high-cost conditions and add a cardiovascular program. AOL's strategy included providing condition-specific healthcare education and case management intervention of specific disease conditions.

We selected Matria because it was the only disease management company with the technological capability to help us custom design a program that would target employees at risk for developing chronic conditions, as well identify those already diagnosed with an illness, Jodi explains.

Matria also was able to partner with AOL's other healthcare vendors, such as the company providing the 24x7 nurse line, which allows nurses to more easily refer patients to Matria who might need a disease management program.

I am very pleased with our results so far, Jodi says. We will continue to monitor and measure our success based on employee and physician satisfaction, as well as our return on our investment.

Now that we have a strong disease management program in place, we are continuing to expand our programs to address prevention issues, Jodi says. Since 85 percent of healthcare costs are caused by chronic conditions, it makes logical sense to me that we find a way to prevent additional cases among our employees.

With the nation's obesity epidemic leading to more cases of diabetes and heart disease, Jodi feels the need to provide educational and support services that help AOL's employees learn healthier lifestyle habits. Currently, AOL offers on-site fitness centers, incentives for employees to take health risk assessments and a wide range of wellness programs. Future plans include integrating AOL's disease management program with its disability management program and providing education to employees on how to be wise healthcare consumers.

Meanwhile, Jodi is pleased to see a growing number of participants are enrolling in AOL's disease management programs. AOL will be assessing if there is a corresponding reduction in costs for treating these patients, she says. I feel confident that we are moving in the right direction and disease management will assist those that need the support in navigating the health care system.