Retirement insights from a Colorado PERA perspective

Inside Colorado PERA

How PERA Stays Informed and Engaged in Health Care Policy

photo creNathan McDaniel – 1297253149 – GettyImages https://peraontheissues.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/cropped-State-Capitol-April-2018-1.jpg

Colorado PERA is involved in a number of organizations that play a
role in developing health care policy at the state and federal level. In doing
so, PERA is contributing to the triple aim of health care: better health,
better care at lower prices.

PERA was a founding member of the Colorado Business Group on Health (CBGH), a nonprofit
coalition led by employers that purchase health care. CBGH works toward finding
market-based solutions to lowering health care costs for employers and
employees. CBGH also aims to improve the quality of health care for
participants in health plans like PERACare.

PERA continues
to help support CBGH’s mission to improve the cost, quality, and patient
experience of health care in Colorado. As a member of CBGH, PERA is not only sharing
knowledge about health care plans with other entities in Colorado, but also
learning from them. PERA also has a larger voice by speaking to health
insurance plans and health care providers as part of a coalition of employers
rather than alone.

Some of the
activities that CBGH supports include:

  • Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade. CBGH is the regional
    leader for the Leapfrog hospital safety grade – the only
    hospital rating focused exclusively on hospital safety. Its A, B, C, D or
    F letter grades are a quick way for consumers to choose the safest
    hospital to seek care.  
  • Monthly Strategy Sessions.  Each
    month, CBGH members convene to hear from regional and national leaders and
    engage in discussions on strategic issues for improving health
    care value.  
  • Market Overviews for Leadership.  Each
    year, CBGH provides members with an overview of the health care market
    within which employers purchase health care.  

PERA also participates in the Public Sector Healthcare Roundtable, a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of public-sector health care purchasers from across the United States, including states, counties and municipalities. The Roundtable works to bring a voice to the tens of millions of public-sector employees and retirees they serve in conversations about the design, development and implementation of national health care policy. The Roundtable is committed to maintaining programs that enable public workers, retirees and their families to obtain high-quality health benefits at an affordable and sustainable cost.

Efforts of the Roundtable include issuing letters to elected
officials and other policymakers informing them of the impact of proposed
legislation or policy; tracking health care policy and keeping members informed about policy changes and
their implications; and facilitating discussions with health policy leaders as
the need arises.

Additionally, PERA participates
in the State and Local Government Benefits
Association
(SALGBA), a
national organization that provides its members – public sector organizations
that offer benefits such as health care – with educational and collaborative
support by hosting national and regional conferences. State and local
governments and other public sector organizations can share information, ask
questions, and learn about best practices from experts and each other.

By actively participating in these
state and national organizations, PERA is directly involved in learning about
and shaping the future of health care policy that affects PERA’s members and
retirees.

Comments

  1. Gary Vigil says:

    As a pre Medicare retiree, I’m failing to see how Pera actively involved in lowering health care costs. I had to leave pera care for private insurance which is half of the premium. Wish I understood these articles better.

  2. Lori Coulter says:

    If PERA is so involved in reducing the cost of healthcare then why doesn’t it reduce its membership premium. Come on – 1/3 of my PERA income goes to health insurance. Also PERA never informs its members when open enrollment is.

  • Share

  • Print