One of the most recognizable hotel and resort management corporations in the world, Hyatt Hotels prides itself on taking great care of its more than 200,000 workers across 1,350 properties in 69 countries.
The hotelier provides a strong benefits ecosystem to support their colleagues, from mental health support to diabetes management and physical therapy services.
“Hyatt takes pride in offering the right care for our colleagues by ensuring accessibility and affordability to good healthcare,” says Dawn Beaudin, Vice President of Benefits at Hyatt Hotels.
Many Hyatt colleagues serve in physically demanding roles and spend a lot of time on their feet, often leading to musculoskeletal problems, joint pain and other issues requiring surgery. These costs were adding up, and after the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the hotel industry, Hyatt needed to find a way to reduce healthcare spending.
Not wanting to pull back on existing health benefits, Hyatt began searching for a solution to not only contain but reduce high-expense surgical costs while providing colleagues with access to excellent care.
Searching for a Cost-Effective, High-Quality Solution
Dawn says it was important for Hyatt to find a partner that was truly focused on quality—not just cost savings. Hyatt vetted other solutions in addition to SurgeryPlus, but felt they mostly worked with facilities that delivered the best prices, not the best possible care.
It was also paramount for Hyatt to choose a vendor that would be affordable for lower-income colleagues, as studies show people on employer-sponsored health plans routinely skip needed care due to high costs.
“We wanted to make sure our colleagues had access to high-quality surgical care, and we wanted to ensure it was affordable not only for our employees, but for our company as well,” Dawn says.
“First and Foremost, it was Based on Quality”
When the Hyatt benefits team evaluated their options, the EDH approach to quality stood out. We vet surgeons on an individual, rather than facility, level using a thorough evaluation process that includes only surgeons in the top 15% of their specialty.
“SurgeryPlus had the data to show that these were good, quality surgeons and they weren’t just choosing the lowest-cost providers. First and foremost, it was based on quality,” Dawn says.
In addition to connecting colleagues with the best providers, EDH also negotiates rates that are 60% lower than carrier rates on average, creating an opportunity for the significant savings Hyatt was looking for.
Finally, Hyatt knew colleagues would be in good hands with EDH Care Advocates. When surgery proves necessary, Hyatt colleagues are immediately connected with a care navigator to handle scheduling, care coordination, and patient advocacy. The care navigator can book hotels and transportation, and provide financial support to cover lodging, food, and other expenses to lessen the emotional burden during surgery. Hyatt colleagues love the 1:1 support they receive from Care Advocates, providing them a 90+ NPS rating.
EDH and SurgeryPlus checked all of Hyatt’s boxes, and the company decided to move forward with implementing the program.
SurgeryPlus Delivers Excellent Care and Tangible Savings
One important measure of quality is how often providers recommend against unnecessary surgery. When Dawn first started talking to EDH, the team shared that SurgeryPlus surgeons recommend against surgery 20-30% of the time. She said that once they launched with SurgeryPlus, she saw that data come to life.
“We’ve had situations where colleagues were assured they needed to have surgery, and then they go to a SurgeryPlus provider and find out they don’t need surgery after all, or they need a hip surgery rather than a spine surgery,” Dawn says. “These surgeons aren’t just doing surgeries to make money, they’re actually doing what’s best for their patients.”
In addition to connecting colleagues with high-quality care, since offering the SurgeryPlus benefit, Hyatt has seen substantial savings while ensuring colleagues can access surgical care regardless of cost. These savings allow Hyatt to continue investing in innovative health services for their colleagues.
In 2023, Hyatt Hotels saved over $6 million in surgical costs. Out of 231 total cases, the company saved $22,000 on average per procedure.
“We’ve gotten terrific savings from the program,” Dawn says. “We’ve done a thorough analysis, and we see the dollar savings are certainly there with SurgeryPlus.”
Because Hyatt wanted to drive significant cost reductions, the company decided to require colleagues to use the SurgeryPlus network for joint and spine surgery, as well as bariatric surgery. While colleagues at first bristled at having their options limited, word-of-mouth stories about the quality of providers and out-of-pocket savings have since spread.
Overall, Dawn says feedback on SurgeryPlus is “very positive” and because care through SurgeryPlus is free for Hyatt colleagues, the financial aspect of the benefit has been especially impactful.
“We’ve had a number of individuals who have come to us and said they wouldn’t have been able to have surgery if it weren’t for this benefit,” she says.
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