Here are four things to know:
1. The program’s process involves Lowe’s and other employers paying one flat rate for a particular procedure from any of a number of hospitals they’ve selected for quality. Under their agreement, the hospital handles all the treatment within a certain time frame all for that one price.
2. Bob Ihrie, senior vice president for compensation and benefits at Lowe’s, came up with the idea for the program in 2010.
3. Although the program is optional, more than 700 Lowe’s employees have taken the company up on its offer.
4. The Pacific Business Group on Health negotiates that price for Lowe’s, Walmart and a number of other large employers. The team at PBCH is able to negotiate rates that are 20 to 30 percent below what the companies used to pay for the procedures.
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