About Us

The Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health (GPBCH) seeks to increase the value of health benefit spending for the region’s employers. We do this by improving workforce and community health, increasing healthcare quality and safety, and reducing health care costs. The Coalition represents employer interests in working with health plans, health care providers, benefits consultants, suppliers and other system stakeholders to address population health priorities and to ensure that when health care is needed it is accessible, affordable, equitable, high-quality, and safe.

The United States continues to spend more on healthcare than any other nation and the rate of healthcare cost increase continues to dramatically outpace general inflation. Despite this commitment of resources, the U.S. ranks poorly on almost all measures of access, quality, safety, timeliness, and efficiency.

Key research findings regarding the U.S. healthcare system include:

• Between 100,000 and 400,000 people die each year in hospitals due to medical errors
• When an American visits a physician there is a 50-50 chance of getting care in accordance with guidelines
• Studies have estimated that between 25% and 50% of current spending is waste (e.g. overuse, inappropriate use, treatment of complications due to medical errors, costs of administration).

As the purchasers of nearly half of the nation’s healthcare, employers have the ability to hold the system more accountable for improving quality and controlling utilization and cost – but only when they work collectively to influence care. GPBCH works to drive change in the local market, and is one of 40 business coalitions that collaborate through the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions (www.nationalalliancehealth.org) to influence national policy, and to share expertise and best practices.

GPBCH was established in 2012 and incorporated in Pennsylvania as a non-profit corporation in July of 2013. GPBCH has IRS designation as a 501(c)(3) organization. The Coalition’s service area includes the Philadelphia 5-county area of Southeastern Pennsylvania, the State of Delaware, and Southern New Jersey. Any employer that is corporately based in this region or has a significant workforce in this region is welcome to join. GPBCH also offers affiliate memberships to organizations that do not participate as employers but have an interest in supporting GPBCH’s mission.

GPBCH represents 750,000 lives in the local market and 1.5 million lives nationally

What are the Benefits of Membership? By joining GPBCH, employers are showing that they recognize the need for healthcare system reform, and are willing to use their collective market power to make a difference. This in itself is important to drive health plans and provider organizations to invest more heavily in improvement.

Additional benefits of coalition membership include:

• Free attendance (two registrants) at in person educational programs, including the Coalition’s Annual Conference and Annual Wellness Summit (most programs offer SHRM and CEBS credits)
• Free attendance at Coalition monthly webinars
• Free subscription to the Coalition’s monthly newsletter, featuring Coalition activities, educational programming, population health tools and resources, and local and national news
• Ability to network with other employers in the region, including “Employers Only” forums
• Opportunity to participate in interest groups that track innovations and guide Coalition initiatives on benefit design, health and well-being, health equity, and transparency
• Access to GPBCH library of educational programs, speaker presentations, employer benchmarking surveys and population health management resources
• Access to networking, resources and educational programs from the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions
• Access to group purchasing and discount pricing programs
• Opportunity to apply for GPBCH Annual Health Benefits Innovation Awards
• Representation of employer interests in local and national healthcare policy discussions

GPBCH’s Officers and Board of Directors set the Coalition agenda with input from work groups that are open to all members. Examples of Coalition initiatives and accomplishments include:

1. Creating transparency on hospital quality and safety
   • Serving as the Regional Leader for the Leapfrog Group Hospital and Ambulatory Surgical Center Surveys – a national initiative for facilities to voluntarily disclose quality and safety data; since 2012 Leapfrog Hospital Survey participation in the GPBCH region increased from 5% to 80% o
   • Publishing an employer guide for evaluating hospital cost, quality and safety
   • Developing the nation’s first regional public report on quality of inpatient cancer care
   • Developing a joint replacement surgery provider cost and quality report
2. Developing tools to improve employee health and well-being
   • Promoting health and wellbeing through monthly wellness observances, healthy living guides, patient safety resources, and employer advisories for specific health conditions
   • Convening a Diabetes and Obesity Interest Group to provide employers with tools and strategies for weight management and diabetes prevention and management
   • Developing a “Healthy Employer Recognition Program”
3. Promoting Value-based Benefit Design
   • Developing recommendations for smoking cessation, lipid management, blood pressure control, and diabetes management to encourage use of high-value services and discourage use of low-value services
   • Evaluating and sharing benchmark survey findings on current benefit designs for addressing obesity, including behavioral/lifestyle, pharmacologic, and surgical benefits

The Coalition’s current areas of clinical focus are diabetes, obesity, hypertension, oncology care, musculoskeletal issues, specialty pharmaceuticals, and women’s health.

EMPLOYER standard annual membership dues are based on total number of employees in the GPBCH service area; at $5 per benefits-eligible employee in the region, with minimum dues of $1,000 (≤200 employees) and maximum dues of $5,000 (≥1,000 employees). Certain non-profit and public employers may qualify for a discount on annual dues.

For an additional $2,500 dues, employers can upgrade to an EMPLOYER PREMIER membership.

AFFILIATE membership annual dues are $5,000.

Coalition membership is a small investment with a potentially huge return!

Contact Tom Belmont, President and CEO, GPBCH, (215) 800-1064, tbelmont@gpbch.org.