AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwired - Sep 13, 2013) - EmployerDirect, a leader in value-based healthcare that helps large, self-insured employers improve the quality of their employees' planned medical procedures, is pleased to announce that it now offers SurgeryPlus, a supplemental healthcare benefit that reduces the costs of planned medical procedures by 30-50 percent through bundled case rates at high-quality providers. SurgeryPlus is implemented by a personalized care coordinator team and negotiates all costs BEFORE surgery, thereby empowering patients in the decision-making process. All surgeons in the SurgeryPlus Network are also required to be board certified and meet strict selection criteria. It's an easy overlay to any existing medical plan and offers an expanded choice of providers within the medical plan. 

"SurgeryPlus allows companies to drastically lower the cost of quality care, which is a benefit to the employer's bottom line that can be passed down to employees. It also helps physicians build their practices by providing new patients through direct referrals of new surgical volume," said Thomas Johnston, EmployerDirect CEO. "We emphasize and deliver quality over all other aspects, resulting in better outcomes for patients."

SurgeryPlus offers bundled case rates for planned medical procedures by pre-negotiating and consolidating all costs before surgery, including surgeon, assistant surgeon, anesthesia fees, facility costs, inpatient diagnostics, therapy, and pharmacy. The covered procedures are mostly elective and include orthopedic, spine, cardiovascular, bariatric, general surgery and carpel tunnel surgeries, along with minor outpatient procedures such as colonoscopy, endoscopy, arthroscopy. Each procedure is implemented by the care coordinator, who acts as a personal assistant for each member. Care coordinators help select a SurgeryPlus provider, schedule appointments, aid in transferring medical records, manage travel logistics for patients when necessary, and supervise a member satisfaction survey. SurgeryPlus is receiving overwhelming positive feedback from members.

"A unique advantage with SurgeryPlus is that we select specific physicians to provide extraordinary care for members," said Philip Sanger, M.D., EmployerDirect Chief Medical Officer and a founder of Healthspring Medicare Advantage Program. "Our complication rate has proven to be best-in-class without any readmissions or mortalities, which confirms that selecting quality surgeons is one of SurgeryPlus's differentiators among healthcare plans."

Surgery sites are selected with equally high criteria. Most of the procedures are performed at specialty hospitals and surgery centers, where nurse-to-patient ratios and service is better, and exposure to patients with multiple medical issues is not present. Patients at high risk for a procedure like a heart valve repair or replacement receive direct access to acute care hospital with SurgeryPlus. EmployerDirect collects data on local hospitals, physician-owned hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers, and looks at quality comparison analysis at each site as specific to each specialty when selecting medical centers.

About EmployerDirect
EmployerDirect, a leader in value-based healthcare, transforms the way self-funded employer health plans purchase healthcare for their members, saving 30-50 percent on planned medical procedures with the potential to reduce total plan cost by 6-10 percent. The company also offers unique medical concierge service that assists covered members with selecting a provider, scheduling a procedure, transferring medical records, coordinating travel logistics and negotiating surgery costs BEFORE the surgery occurs. For more information about EmployerDirect, please visit www.edhc.com or call (512)651-5551.