As companies navigate healthcare options for their employees that balance their need to manage and contain costs with providing the best care for their staff, an executive from pest control and protection service provider Rollins shared how and why it decided on a reference-based pricing strategy in collaboration with Imagine360.
Under reference-based pricing, the employer (supported by a third-party administrator or vendor) pays a set a price for each healthcare service instead of negotiating prices with providers, according to the American Hospital Association. When a provider bills for the service, the payer remits the set amount. If the provider is dissatisfied with the payment, they can bill the patient for the unpaid portion of the claim. Historically, payers have limited reference-based pricing to out-of-network emergency and laboratory claims. But more organizations are considering it as a strategy for managing healthcare costs.
In an interview, Jamie Benton, vice president of HR at Rollins, talked about how he led a shift in the company’s health benefits strategy, which produced $29 million in savings over a five-year period. It also unlocked a reinvestment opportunity few human resource leaders ever achieve.
“When employees don’t have to think twice about going to the doctor — because it’s free — that changes behavior,” Benton said. “Free primary care, free mental health, free generic drugs are enabled by our savings with Imagine360.”
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