Business/Healthcare/US 🇺🇸/UK 🇬🇧
Business/healthcare partnerships are very relevant to the confluence between work and health. Both sectors share interests in improving health outcomes for workers. Despite this, there are barriers to collaboration.
In the US, factors such as decentralisation and private-sector led healthcare can enable partnerships to emerge, driven by market incentives. I caught up with Elizabeth Bachrad, Head of Programme Strategy at Business for Health (B4H) to discuss the differences between the two landscapes, and how to lay the groundwork for increased collaboration in the UK.
How do business and healthcare stakeholders benefit from collaboration on work and health initiatives?
Reduced healthcare costs
Increased productivity
Safety, compliance and regulation
Data sharing and innovation
Corporate social responsibility and community impact
What are the barriers to business and healthcare stakeholder collaboration on work and health initiatives?
Financial and strategic priorities
Regulatory complexity
Public sector complexity
Cultural differences and trust
Limited awareness and lack of expertise
How do these challenges differ in the UK vs the US?
In the UK, the healthcare landscape is more homogenous since most people access publicly funded services via the NHS. The regulatory landscape is also more consistent across the country. While this means a stronger social safety net is in place compared to the US, it can create a more parochial atmosphere inhibitive to collaboration and innovation.
In comparison, in the US, business leadership drives innovation and efficiency and prevention in healthcare, where organisations are more tuned to the impact of work and health on productivity. Businesses are also more direct stakeholders in reducing healthcare costs as they fund employee healthcare via insurance premiums. The US healthcare system is more market driven than in the UK, and business/healthcare collaborations are approached more readily where return on investment seems possible. Both sectors are more open to the potential of partnerships and there is less stigma around market forces driving efficiency compared to the UK, where market incentives can be perceived negatively and privatisation is frequently regarded as a threat.
Case study: Walmart
Some US employers, including retail corporation Walmart, are actively changing the healthcare landscape in the US by contracting directly with healthcare providers. As an employer paying the health insurance bill, Walmart has taken matters into its own hands, directly procuring high quality high value healthcare and emphasising prevention in the plans it offers. Benefits to Walmart include avoiding spiralling health insurance costs generated by inefficiencies, offering competitive compensation that helps recruit and retain talent, as well as keeping its workforce healthy and productive. The healthcare providers entering partnerships benefit from reaching more patients, supporting their patients achieve better outcomes, as well as from income stability compared to fee for service arrangements.
Lara’s take
The Commonwealth Fund has assembled a National Task Force to examine the future role of employers in the US Health system, aiming to build consensus on drivers including market incentives and regulatory changes. The UK government’s new Occupational Health Task Force is a step forward in this space, but is more limited in scope, with a focus on workplace health.
In the US, the atmosphere of collaboration is an advantage, and the potential for businesses to drive improvement in healthcare more widely is only just beginning to be leveraged. While we are behind in the UK, the need for collaboration between business and healthcare is becoming increasingly urgent due to the the rapidly declining health of the UK working age population.
B4H encourages public-private partnerships to drive the system changes needed through better data sharing and linkage to facilitate action around shared goals. This enables local employers, investors and communities to play a leading role in the health of their communities. When it comes to work and health, learning to collaborate to improve workplace health is just the tip of the iceberg.