Who Knew?

BY TRACY HASSETT | October 31, 2016

When we started edHEALTH three ago, I never imagined I’d be an employee of edHEALTH, that we’d reach so many of our goals so quickly, that we’d have a website, or that I’d be writing my first blog!

If you’re reading this blog, you’re either already a member of edHEALTH, you’re an edHEALTH partner, or you’re interested in learning more about edHEALTH.  No matter what your reason is, you’ve come to the right place. 

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Tracy Hassett and I am the president of edHEALTH.  I have been in this role since September 1, 2015.  Prior to this role, I was vice president of Human Resources at Worcester Polytechnic Institute .  While at WPI, I was one of a number people from several institutions who spent more than three years looking at ways to address the ever-increasing rise of healthcare costs for our institutions, our faculty, staff and family members.  After a great deal of time, research, consulting, feedback, learning, we launched edHEALTH on July 1, 2013.  You will learn all about edHEALTH on the pages on this website – the past, the present and the future.

My intent is to use this blog as way to communicate and share thoughts on how we can continue to break through the “black box” of healthcare costs.  edHEALTH prides itself on being transparent, yet the very industry in which we work can’t say the same.  I feel a continued responsibility to dig into healthcare delivery cost, quality, and access.  There is so much data/information to which we have access to analyze and impact the trends; information from our members’ experiences and utilization, information from industry experts, and information from organizations who are also looking to bend the trend.  Looking at the data is one step…analyzing the data is another…changing the status quo is the goal. 

Are consumer driven health plans the answer?  It depends who you ask.  According to the Health Care Cost Institute, maybe.   

Population Health Management is also viewed as the way to change the system by providing guidance to caregivers that help to improve outcomes while lowering costs.   

I promise you that edHEALTH will continue working to find ways to keep healthcare costs down while working towards improving the healthcare system experience.  While we can’t fix the system alone, we can and will have an impact.

A. Tracy Hassett, SPHR, is the President and CEO of Educators Health, LLC (edHEALTH). She also serves as President and CEO of Educators Health Insurance Exchange, edHEALTH’s stop-loss captive.