In September, the Northeast Business Group on health, a New York-based nonprofit employers group, issued a guide for employers about strategies for strengthening a “vaccination-friendly culture.” Created with funding from Pfizer and Merck, the guide appears as employer vaccination benefits that once had strong, bipartisan support are now affected by fierce, partisan battles in Washington over vaccination policy.
What You Need To Know
The Northeast Business Group on Health is continuing to promote employer support for vaccination programs.
The New York-based, nonprofit employer group has published a new guide for employers on strategies for strengthening an employer's "vaccination-friendly culture."
The NEBGH group board includes representatives from a wide range of large employers, including Aetna, UnitedHealth and Pfizer. Pfizer is a major vaccine maker.
NBGH created the new employer guide with funding from Pfizer and Merck.
NBGH published an employer guide to strategies for creating a vaccine-friendly culture in 2022.
The group's member organizations provide health benefits for about 9 million people in the United States.
Mark Cunningham-Hill, the medical director at the Northeast Business Group on Health, said employers within the coalition of benefits leaders and healthcare stakeholders are generally including GLP-1s for weight loss in their formularies, while also offering “wrap-around” support services to address behavioral change, manage side effects and improve patient outcomes.
“Employers are also monitoring potential expanded indications for GLP-1s in areas such as liver, kidney and cardiovascular disease,” he said.
As we head into cold and flu season, “Strengthening a Vaccination-Friendly Culture: An Employer Roadmap for 2025,” developed by the Northeast Business Group on Health (NEBGH), offers clear, actionable strategies to help organizations create supportive policies and practices that encourage vaccination, protect workforce health, and strengthen trust across the workplace.
Employers can’t afford to be passive. They must actively identify the pressing health challenges their workforce faces—from mental health struggles and poor air quality due to wildfires, to new treatments such as GLP-1 weight-loss medications. With thoughtful, engaging strategies, they can ensure credible, science-based information reaches their workforce.
It may feel like a daunting task in today’s polarized climate, but many employers—and unions—are already rising to the challenge. Kim Thibodeaux, head of the Northeast Business Group on Health, which represents the health interests of nearly 80 of the nation’s largest employers, is prioritizing investing in scalable ways to provide trusted health information content to employer partners. We are partnering with Kim and her team to provide timely, accurate, digestible health information on a range of topics in an omnichannel format.
Cylinder joins Maven Clinic, Northeast Business Group on Health, and others to highlight data-driven approaches to manage healthcare costs.
CHICAGO, Nov. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cylinder, the employee benefit provider for digestive health, today joined the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchasers Coalition Annual Forum, underscoring the growing importance of digestive health alongside other critical healthcare issues. Chris Nordman, Cylinder SVP, Commercial, will join an expert panel to discuss how data analytics and specialized health benefit partnerships are improving employee health outcomes and reducing employer healthcare costs.
The annual forum highlights key issues in employer-sponsored healthcare priorities and features a 90-minute session with leaders from UnitedHealthcare, Maven Clinic, and Northeast Business Group on Health, among others. Experts from these groups will address five critical health areas: cancer, GLP-1s, digestive health, musculoskeletal disorders, and maternity care.
Employers hold significant power in the healthcare industry. About 60% of people under the age of 65 received insurance coverage through their employer last year, according to KFF.
Kim Thiboldeaux stepped into the role of CEO at the Northeast Business Group on Health in early 2024. The organization's members provide coverage for millions of lives.
In this week's episode of "Podnosis," Thiboldeaux sits down with Fierce Healthcare Senior Writer Paige Minemyer to discuss her goals at the helm of NEBGH and the healthcare topics employers are watching most closely.
According to Mark Cunningham-Hill, chief medical director of Northeast Business Group on Health, it's possible that some people will have to take GLP-1s for life, since many patients regain most of their weight after going off the drug, which would further increase costs for employers.
It's also important that patients incorporate lifestyle changes while taking the drugs. "Too many people assume that the GLP-1s are a 'magic bullet' and that they can continue life as before and not make the other changes needed in their life," Cunningham-Hill said.
“Even when we have that data, the indication right now is that weight loss today will equal savings 5, 10, 20 years from now, by which point a lot of these folks will no longer be employed at that company. They either have retired and moved into Medicare or they move on to another company,” said Shawn Gremminger, president and CEO of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, in an interview.
He noted that some people start GLP-1s and then soon stop taking the drugs, adding to the difficulty of gathering the data. It’s also possible that some people will have to take these drugs for life, as many regain most of their weight after going off of the drug, said Dr. Mark Cunningham-Hill, chief medical director of Northeast Business Group on Health. This would further increase costs for employers.
In addition, it’s important that the right people take the drugs and that they incorporate lifestyle changes as well.
Cancer diagnoses are on the rise among younger adults, and a new guidebook seeks to arm employers with the tools necessary to tackle this issue.
The Northeast Business Group on Health's new toolkit highlights actions employers can take to proactively address growing rates for five types of cancer in their workforce: breast cancer, colorectal cancer, head and neck cancer, cancer of the reproductive organs and skin cancer.
There's a clear business case for putting a focus on cancer, as the cost of therapies continues to increase and patients often require treatment for the long haul, NEBGH Medical Director Mark Cunningham-Hill, M.D., told Fierce Healthcare.