NORTON HEALTHCARE

EARNING A SEAT AT THE TABLEWhen Norton Healthcare, an integrated health system in Louisville, Kentucky, decided to revamp its employee benefits program more than seven years ago, company leaders wanted a partner to provide advice and support—and that’s what they found with Lockton.

“I’ve heard other brokers call themselves consultants but Lockton’s professionals really are,” says John Hammond, system director of human resources at Norton. “In reality, this is a differentiator.”

A Strategic Focus

With more than 12,000 employees in the health system, Norton’s number one expense is benefits. Norton wanted to gain control of costs and create a more cohesive benefits program that would run smoothly while helping them attract and retain top talent. The Lockton team began with intensive data analysis to identify cost drivers, and then developed strategies that would create both efficiency and savings for the organization.

L O C K T O N C O M P A N I E S

Lockton Services

Health and Welfare

Retirement Benefits

Executive Benefits

Wellness Program

Voluntary Benefits

Property and Casualty

This keen eye for business strategy earned the Lockton team a seat at the table for Norton Healthcare’s annual strategic planning process. Working closely with Norton leadership, Lockton helped the organization develop a multiyear strategic plan, identifying new opportunities for savings while maintaining an attractive benefits program.

“Lockton provides us the guidance we need to ensure we’re following our plan and holding employees accountable for living a healthier life,” says Tony Bohn, system vice president and chief human resources officer. “This partnership keeps us balanced.”

Wellness That Works

Once Lockton helped Norton transform its health and welfare program, leadership turned its focus to a health risk management strategy. With assistance from Lockton, the organization created NGood Health, a program that incents employees to live healthier lives. According to Bohn, “Using InfoLock® Employee Benefits data from Lockton, we identified the top five cost indicators in our health plan and have begun developing wellness initiatives around those.”

Creating an Accountable Care Organization

Employees were not the only individuals held accountable. Norton also began holding its own physicians accountable for adhering to evidence-based best practices. As part of an accountable care organization (ACO) pilot program with the Brookings Institute, developed in partnership with Humana, Norton began analyzing InfoLock® Employee Benefits data to understand individual physician practice patterns by disease state. “Our goal with the ACO pilot was to prove that managing disease states would help us lower costs,” says Bohn. “With the detailed data we receive from Lockton, we’re seeing early evidence of progress.”

The Results of Partnership

� Streamlined benefits plan offerings

leading to annual savings of

approximately $7 million.

� Compliance with constantly evolving

federal regulations.

� Development of a Norton-specific

wellness program.

� Access to detailed data that drives

all decisions.

Improved Employee Satisfaction

A unique strategy has helped Norton further enhance its employee benefits offering. On behalf of Norton, Lockton hired a team of Benefits Education Specialists (BESs). These human resources professionals focus on helping all employees understand and fully leverage their benefits through one-on-one meetings. Relevant voluntary benefits are offered to help address other potential risks. This team also began handling day-to-day employee questions and managing the annual open enrollment process.

Survey feedback revealed high employee satisfaction and improved understanding of Norton’s benefits package. Best of all, this team has been run without additional cost or staffing, fully funded by adoption of voluntary benefits. Thanks to the support of the BES team, the Norton human resources group is now is able to focus primarily on strategic initiatives. “I don’t need to hire more staff because I’m already getting what I need from the Lockton team,” says Hammond.

An Evolving Partnership

According to Hammond, “I think the most important thing for me, as a benefits practitioner, is that Lockton partners with us. That consultative approach is so very different. I haven’t found it often in my career.”

“It’s a significant partnership,” says Bohn. “Lockton has helped us approach our benefits program from a strategic standpoint, understanding our need to add value for our employees while being good stewards of our organization’s resources.”

NORTON HR LEADERS

WALK THE WALKWhen Norton made the commitment to

implement a Lockton Health Risk Solutions®

program, its senior human resources

leaders took the commitment personally by

addressing their own health challenges.

According to Tony Bohn, “I was the guy who

had more chins than hairs on the top of my

head. I wore a size 42" waist pants and was

very unhealthy. And I was standing in front

of our employees, telling them ‘You need to

live healthier lives or we’re not going to be

able to afford our health plan.’” Today he’s

60 pounds lighter and a model of the healthy

lifestyle that is actively promoted within

the organization.

Similarly, John Hammond came to the

realization he needed to make significant

changes. “We were rolling out our wellness

plan and it didn’t make a whole lot of

sense for someone who was responsible for

wellness to be in the shape I was in.” He

began focusing on his health, losing more

than 100 pounds that he’s kept off due to his

commitment to exercise and good nutrition.

www.lockton.com

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