Committee meets to lower university health care costs

An MSU committee is discussing options including lowering prescription drug costs and implementing wellness programs for faculty in an attempt to curb rising health care costs.

The Health Care Strategy Advisory Committee was formed in February to find ways to make MSU’s health care system more efficient.

MSU spent about $106 million — about $2 million a week — on health care and prescription medications in the 2008-09 fiscal year, said Brent Bowditch, assistant vice president of human resources. Bowditch said health care costs for the university increase about 6 percent each year.

The committee is made up of faculty, staff, administration, retirees and union representatives, Bowditch said.

“We’re looking at prescription drugs as ways to have savings for both employees and the university (as well as) wellness kinds of programming to make faculty and staff more aware of their health and what kinds of preventative care they should be having each year,” Bowditch said.

Bowditch said the committee will continue to meet throughout the summer and into the fall. He said he hopes any decisions the committee makes will be decided by November.

The committee also is discussing the creation of a health risk assessment tool for faculty and staff that will help answer health questions with immediate feedback.

The committee also is identifying certain hospitals and other facilities with high expertise in specific medical areas for a higher quality of care, Bowditch said.

James Hillard, associate provost for human health affairs, said reducing health care isn’t an option being discussed. Instead, the committee is trying to find ways to slow down the increasing costs.

Hillard also said preventing illnesses before they become a problem is key to controlling costs.

“One of the great things about MSU is the stable work force — most of the people who work here have been here for a long time and plan of being here for a long time,” he said. “That gives us a chance to prevent illness in the future.”

Hillard said MSU also is looking at offering new options for health care, such as using a smaller group of practitioners who “practice good medicine,” which could lower copays.

Deborah Moriarty, chair of the University Committee on Faculty Affairs and professor in the College of Music, said there needs to be a nationwide change, not just at MSU.

“What I would like to see is to see the U.S. government do some amazing, huge change,” Moriarty said. “I think there’s a lot of interest in the university at looking at health care options, but I think it’s a moving target.”