When the Ridgeline Behavioral Health team members in Colorado decided to tackle outside medical costs, even they were surprised at how their small touch on a huge issue could result in such significant savings.

Team members identified two ways they thought they could have an impact—including finding out which of their patients were being seen frequently in the Emergency Department—while helping their patients get appropriate care. 

“We know from evidence-based medicine that if patients are seeking care in the Emergency Department for mental health issues, it’s unlikely to provide a long-term improvement in symptoms,” explains Amy Martin, manager of Ridgeline Behavioral Health. 

Team members began the project by researching which outside hospitals Kaiser Permanente prefers to have members and patients use. Armed with the new information, they created a flier explaining the options and shared it with the rest of the staff, who then shared it with patients. This way, when patients did access care, they were more likely to go to a facility that KP has a contract with and thus, cut costs.

The results were remarkable. The team’s patients’ visits to emergency departments decreased by 8.25 percent, which in turn reduced ED costs by 26 percent. The total impact for 2016: $1 million in soft-dollar savings. 

“My union members’ biggest passion is providing good service and high-quality care,” says Nate Bernstein, health care director of UFCW Local 7, which represents about 2,000 of Kaiser Permanente’s Colorado employees. “And we also know the company needs to be sustainable financially.”

But frontline staff can’t do it all on their own. Unit-based teams need leaders who share goals and strategy, helping them connect the dots between quality, service and affordability. 

Knowing the difference such information can make to frontline workers, KP Colorado Health Plan President Roland Lyon provides regular, in-person updates on membership numbers, service scores, financial results and more.

He emphasizes a few key business goals, and he provides a vision: “The best way to deliver affordable care is to deliver high-quality care.” 

Providing that high-quality, affordable care is everyone’s job, at every level. Local, regional and national KP leaders are, for example, revamping purchasing practices and taking advantage of tech innovations to keep a lid on the rising cost of care. In 2016, 4,800 UBT projects reduced expenses by more than $48 million, savings that help keep costs down for members. The sum may seem small in a $65 billion organization, but it speaks to a deeper commitment. 

Leading change

“Workers know where the challenges are,” Bernstein says, “and have led change over the years to improve the patient experience and reduce costs.”

The challenges often directly affect workers. Colorado saw an influx of new members in 2014 and again in 2016. The region still is growing, but a big chunk of the new members left after a year because of changing market dynamics as well as internal service, access and cost issues. 

“The ups and downs of membership growth create strains on our system—and it’s hard on ourteams,” Lyon acknowledges.

Lyon’s updates and other regional communications provide UBTs with information on the types of projects to take on to support Colorado’s strategy. To solve some of the access issues, for example, the region is making greater use of digitally enabled services, some of which were developed by frontline teams and some by leadership.

But success requires the know-how of the teams and, says Lyon, “engaged, enabled and empowered” team members to identify and remove barriers to service, pilot new approaches and help take waste out of the system.

The result is that UBTs in Colorado reduced waste or captured lost revenue to the tune of more than $9 million last year. And they’ve helped the region reduce its expense trend by nearly 1 percent.

But “you can’t cut your way to long-term success,” Lyon tells managers and workers. “You can’t really do more with less. And you can’t do it alone. But we can do more with a little bit more. It’s about providing more access to the best care to more people.”