August 16, 2018
Welcome to the newly designed fyi newsletter, exclusively for Action Group members! We've made minor changes to the design to ensure the Express and fyi newsletters are optimized for all devices. Member input is always welcome and encouraged. Please don't hesitate to get in touch with questions, comments, or recommendations.
Join us for the Inaugural Action Group Member Book Club!
All Action Group members are invited to join us for an engaging discussion of the timely book, An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take it Back , on September 18 . It is a  New York Times  bestseller, Washington Post  Notable Book of 2017, NPR Best Books of 2017, and Wall Street Journal  Best Books of 2017. 

The first 10 Action Group members to register for the meeting will receive a complimentary copy of the book. Register now and watch your email to see if you are a winner. Others are encouraged to purchase the book directly from their favorite local bookstore or online source. To watch a preview from the author, click here .

If you have a friend or colleague who is actively considering Action Group membership, please contact Sue Jesseman ( sjesseman@mnhealthactiongroup.org ) for a complimentary meeting pass.
"The current market for health care just doesn't deliver. it is deeply, perhaps fatally, flawed. Even market economists don't believe in it anymore."
Author, Elisabeth Rosenthal, M.D.

“Elisabeth Rosenthal’s meticulous history of the crisis in American health care should be required reading for our generation."
Siddhartha Mukherjee
Pulitzer Prize-winning author

Community Dialogue: Accelerating Performance Improvement in Integrated Behavioral Health

"What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, more unashamed conversation about illnesses that affect not only individuals, but their families as well."
Glenn Close
The list of things that are wrong with the mental health care system in America is longer than the list of things that are right. Still, there is reason for optimism as employers, care systems, health plans, providers, medical groups, and other stakeholders begin collaborating to translate ideas to actions to help advance mental health in the workplace.

The Action Group is convening a Community Dialogue to share the findings of its Mental Health Learning Network. Also featured will be a panel of industry experts who will share perspectives, knowledge and ideas about this important topic affecting the U.S. economy -- and all Americans.

The goal of the meeting is to come to a collective understanding and agreement on how, together, we can fulfill the promise of achieving true mental health parity.

Registration opens soon for members and non-members. To learn more, please contact Action Group Vice President, Deb Krause  ( dkrause@mnhealthactiongroup.org ).

When:
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
8 a.m.-10 a.m.
Where:
Science Museum of Minnesota
120 West Kellogg Boulevard
St. Paul, MN
"Working Well in Minnesota" is the result of The Action Group's Mental Health Learning Network. It is available exclusively to members and offers insights and actions to help employers advance mental health in the workplace.
Health Care Costs in the News: Can we Achieve Transparency?
With "huge swings" in Minnesota hospital charges featured prominently in recent news , the August 14, 2018, member webinar examined how Action Group members can unite to demand price transparency in hopes of achieving a value-based, rational health care marketplace.

"Our webinar was designed to address employers' long-held concerns about the lack of transparency and variations in both the cost and quality of health care," says Carolyn Pare, Action Group president and CEO. "The latest news that hospital bills for similar patients getting the same type of surgery at the same hospital can differ by as much as $65,000 is cause for alarm -- and change."

Our panel of experts shed light on the marketplace and how to push for greater transparency. The webinar recording will be available online until August 27 . The webinar PowerPoint is posted to the Member Center .

Close up of a graph with an Electrocardiograph also known as a EKG or ECG graph with a stethoscope and calculator showing the high cost of health care
"The Action Group has made a deep commitment to making cost and quality transparency a reality, so employers can help employees and their family members identify and access the highest quality, most affordable health care."
Carolyn Pare
Mental Health First Aid at Work Training: Saving Lives, Changing Lives
Action Group members and staff recently participated in a new wave of first aid training rapidly sweeping the world, Mental Health First Aid at Work,  learning to help coworkers facing mental health challenges.

Mental Health First Aid has the power to save lives when "First Aiders" learn to notice and support coworkers who may be experiencing a mental health or substance use concern or crisis and connect them with employee resources.

100% of Action Group training participants agreed:

  1. The class was valuable to me, both personally and professionally.
  2. Course content was practical and easy to understand.
  3. This training will be useful at my job.
  4. The presenter was engaging and welcoming.
  5. The presenter demonstrated knowledge of the material presented.
  6. The presenter facilitated activities and discussion clearly and effectively.
  7. I would recommend this class to others.

To learn more, please contact Action Group Vice President, Deb Krause (dkrause@mnhealthactiongroup.org).
Helping Employees Avoid Type 2 Diabetes Within Reach
the words prediabetes on a tablet with syringe
With one in three American adults having prediabetes (90 percent of whom don't know it), employers have an important role to play in raising awareness to keep employees from progressing to type 2 diabetes. And the main message is a positive one: Most people with prediabetes need to lose just 5%-10% of their body weight to reverse progression of the disease.
 
An easy way to alert employees to their risk is to make the quick and easy  prediabetes self-test  available. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is collaborating with The Action Group to make the National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) a covered benefit for employees. This proven lifestyle change program can cut the risk of diabetes in half. Additional free employer resources are now available:

  • MDH/Action Group Employer Toolkit includes DPP vendors, a risk calculator, fact sheet, FAQs and much more. To view, please click here (select "National Diabetes Prevention Program" tile).
  • CDC Diabetes Prevention Impact Toolkit, designed for states, employers, and insurers, please click here.
Network and Learn at one of These Special Events...

Member Meetings:

All regularly scheduled member meetings are held at the Hilton Airport/MOA, 3800 American Boulevard East, Bloomington, from 8 a.m.-10 a.m.


Public Meetings and Events:
   
Narrow Your Search: Post HR, Benefits Positions Here!
Action Group members seeking to find the best possible candidates to fill challenging positions in human resources and benefits are encouraged to use our newsletters to advertise. Best of all, there is no charge to do so! To learn more or to post a position, contact Sue Jesseman (sjesseman@mnhealthactiongroup.org) with a job description. The ad can run until the position is filled.
Visit mnhealthactiongroup.org for Helpful Tools and Resources
The Action Group offers many resources to all website visitors such as blogs, toolkits, Purchaser's Guides for a number of conditions, and links to news and trusted resources. Members can connect with colleagues or locate exclusive presentations and materials through the Member Center from the  homepage . For example: 

  • Presentations from member meetings about transparency, ACOs, RFPs, health care economics, cancer in the workplace, and many more are available by logging into the Member Center from the homepage.
  • Comprehensive Member Directory
  • "Working Well in Minnesota: Insights and Actions for Advancing Mental Health in the Workplace"
  • Specialty Pharmacy Purchaser's Guides (Phase I and Phase II)
Express Roundup: Top Stories from The Action Group's Newsletter