A tech company takes control of rising costs
- Distributor of technology products, services and solutions in Tampa, FL
- Eight U.S. distribution centers serving 22 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico
- More than six decades in business
“We had been with a traditional PPO, and as renewal came, we saw increase after increase.”
Steve Decker, Senior Vice President and General Counsel
Steve Decker, Senior Vice President and General Counsel
Heading off another PPO price hike
DOW Technologies executive Steve Decker was leading the company’s healthcare committee when its PPO provider presented their healthcare costs for the 2018 plan year. DOW was facing an 18% price hike. For years, DOW chased healthcare savings by constantly switching PPO plans. But after another price increase, Decker decided that enough was enough. It was time to explore other options. That’s when a colleague told him about Imagine360.
“All those years, we tried to keep the costs for our employees down by not raising employee contributions, and we felt that was going to come to an end.”
A health plan with
concierge service
With Imagine360, DOW found what it was looking for — a total health plan solution built around a reference-based pricing (RBP) model that protects the company and its employees from inflated medical costs.
Decker was impressed with how Imagine360 audited bills and lowered healthcare spend — both for the company and for its employees and their families.
But price protection was just the beginning. Imagine360 also includes concierge-level member support delivered by a team of experts who personally guide members through an often confusing and time-consuming medical maze.
“In our old PPO system, what would they tell you? Log onto the website, put in your city and ZIP code and sift through the hundreds of providers,” said Decker. But with Imagine360, all it takes is one call to the plan’s support team and they take care of the rest — helping members find quality providers and book appointments. “Many employees took advantage of that,” said Decker. “The customer support… both on the front end and the back end as an advocate for our bills. We could never get that from our PPO.”
After seeing the savings and support, Decker and his fellow DOW executives were thrilled with their decision to make the switch to Imagine360.
“I was able to lay it out to our executive committee — explain how we get a bill from the hospital for $35,000 for a procedure that actually costs less than $8,000. That’s when we decided we were going to take a stand with Imagine360.”
Deep savings and expanded benefits
$1.5M
in savings in the first year
50%
reduction in the employee out-of-pocket
costs
Expanded
Benefits for employees
Employees saved money and were better supported
For Decker, one important aspect of switching to another healthcare plan was member education. “Employees needed to understand why we were making the change,” said Decker. “What it meant for them and their families. What it meant for their level of care.”
Imagine360 filled that need, helping Decker and his HR team educate employees on the benefits that come with an Imagine360 plan: the auditing of bills, member advocacy, concierge-level support, cost savings and more. After a successful roadshow across all of DOW’s locations, employees understood the reason for the change and embraced their new health plan solution — underscoring the importance of team buy-in.
Decker also made it a point to share data with employees, showing that they’d saved $500,000 in deductibles, copays and coinsurance in the first year. The more employees knew how Imagine360 had saved them money, the more engaged they were with their healthcare decisions.
“With our PPO, you never had a comfort level if you had to go to the hospital. Because you never knew what that bill was going to be. In network, out of network — it was a scary financial situation for most folks. We don’t have that anymore with Imagine360.”
After years as an Imagine360 client, Decker says the switch was “a very, very good move” for DOW Technologies.
During the relationship, he said, the people working for Imagine360 have been “absolutely committed to the process. They understood it, they believed in it. And they were dedicated to the people they were helping, which were my people.” The executives are thrilled with the savings and so are DOW employees.
“I could look at the numbers and tell employees, ‘Not only did our company spend less, you guys spent a lot less — 50% less for better care with Imagine360.”
“Imagine360 has been fantastic to work with.”
Control healthcare spend
