The partnership comes among a growing trend of bundled payments in orthopedic and spine surgery. In the past, companies such as Walmart, Lowe’s and Jet Blue have negotiated bundled pricing for spine surgery with select hospitals and health systems across the country.
Here are five things to know:
1. Kroger negotiated the bundled payments as a fixed price for spine, total knee and total hip replacements. As a self-funded employer, Kroger seeks to control the cost for these procedures while ensuring employees have access to quality care.
2. Kroger has around 90,000 employees eligible for health benefits, according to Dayton Daily News.
3. While bundled payment deals “haven’t caught on” in Dayton, Ohio, according to the CEO of Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association Bryan Bucklew, this new deal could become the impetus for other large employers to negotiate set prices.
4. Dayton Children’s Hospital CFO Chris Bergman told the Dayton Daily News that he hopes to bring bundles to Children’s Hospital as well.
5. Bundled payment deals make the most sense for large companies with more employees who are likely to need the service; companies with a workforce that skews younger likely have the volume of procedures among employees to realize value.
More articles on spine surgery:
Cervical spine revision surgery: 5 points on cost and outcomes
The most important spinal deformity trends today
Do spine surgeon demographics affect outcomes?
