Reducing healthcare spending by connecting your future high-cost claimants to care: a cost-effectiveness analysis of identifying chronic kidney disease risk.

Can HR and benefits professionals really offer cost-effective programs that help prevent chronic conditions? The simple answer is yes. In 2017, Quest Diagnostics began offering an annual chronic kidney disease (CKD) prevention program in conjunction with their yearly wellness screenings to their employees. The program aimed to help those at risk for CKD connect with care that could slow or completely prevent progression of the debilitating, deadly disease. To show the future effectiveness of the program, Quest Diagnostics used predictive models to measure the levels of health improvement, longevity and healthcare savings garnered from the program. Session attendees will walk away with an in-depth understanding of this laboratory-based approach to employee health, a sneak peek on if the program is showing results as predicted and a renewed assurance that wellness benefits can save lives as well as tens of thousands of dollars in healthcare spending. After completing this session, participants will be able to: (1) Understand the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and the high-cost implications for employers absent of a proactive strategy to mitigate CKD risk in employee populations, (2) Articulate one approach to chronic kidney disease intervention and evaluate its effectiveness in controlling costs within an employee population, and (3) Determine the potential cost savings for their own organizations by adopting a laboratory-based approach to employee health and chronic disease management.