THE EMPLOYEE HEALTH-CARE VALUE SURVEY - ROUND-ONE

In a groundbreaking arrangement, a consortium of large employers-the X erox, GTE, and Digital Equipment Corporations-launched the Employee He alth Care Value Survey during fall 1993. Completed by 24,306 employees , this survey was used to develop comparable methods for assessing cor porate health care benefit strategies. It also enabled fair comparison s of thirty-two health plans across the country on more than sixty cri teria. Variation in performance among plans was substantial, with mana ged care plans-particularly prepaid group practices and individual pra ctice associations (IPAs)-recording the most favorable rankings on dis enrollment, overall satisfaction, and other measures of ''bottom-line performance.'' Variation in enrollees' health among plans was more mod est, with indemnity enrollees posing a somewhat greater illness burden to their plans than enrollees of other plan types. The employers and evaluated health plans are now using the results for multiple purposes , including quality improvement initiatives, employee-based plan perfo rmance reports, employee contribution strategies, and health promotion programs.