norton healthcare

NORTON HEALTHCARE
Lockton Services
E ARN I N G A S EAT AT T H E TA BL E
Health and Welfare
When Norton Healthcare, an integrated health system in Louisville,
Retirement Benefits
Kentucky, decided to revamp its employee benefits program more than
Executive Benefits
seven years ago, company leaders wanted a partner to provide advice and
Wellness Program
support—and that’s what they found with Lockton.
Voluntary Benefits
“I’ve heard other brokers call themselves consultants but Lockton’s
Property and Casualty
professionals really are,” says John Hammond, system director of
human resources at Norton. “In reality, this is a differentiator.”
A Strategic Focus
With more than 12,000 employees in the health system, Norton’s number
one expense is benefits. Norton wanted to gain control of costs and create
a more cohesive benefits program that would run smoothly while helping
them attract and retain top talent. The Lockton team began with intensive
data analysis to identify cost drivers, and then developed strategies that
would create both efficiency and savings for the organization.
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The Results of Partnership
™ ™ Streamlined benefits plan offerings
leading to annual savings of
approximately $7 million.
™ ™ Compliance with constantly evolving
federal regulations.
™ ™ Development of a Norton-specific
wellness program.
™ ™ Access to detailed data that drives
all decisions.
This keen eye for business strategy earned the Lockton team a seat at the table for Norton Healthcare’s annual strategic
planning process. Working closely with Norton leadership, Lockton helped the organization develop a multiyear strategic plan,
identifying new opportunities for savings while maintaining an attractive benefits program.
“Lockton provides us the guidance we need to ensure we’re following our plan and holding employees accountable for
living a healthier life,” says Tony Bohn, system vice president and chief human resources officer. “This partnership keeps
us balanced.”
Wellness That Works
Once Lockton helped Norton transform its health and welfare program, leadership turned its focus to a health risk
management strategy. With assistance from Lockton, the organization created NGood Health, a program that incents
employees to live healthier lives. According to Bohn, “Using InfoLock® Employee Benefits data from Lockton, we identified
the top five cost indicators in our health plan and have begun developing wellness initiatives around those.”
Creating an Accountable Care Organization
Employees were not the only individuals held accountable. Norton also began holding its own physicians accountable
for adhering to evidence-based best practices. As part of an accountable care organization (ACO) pilot program with the
Brookings Institute, developed in partnership with Humana, Norton began analyzing InfoLock® Employee Benefits data to
understand individual physician practice patterns by disease state. “Our goal with the ACO pilot was to prove that managing
disease states would help us lower costs,” says Bohn. “With the detailed data we receive from Lockton, we’re seeing early
evidence of progress.”
Improved Employee Satisfaction
A unique strategy has helped Norton further enhance its employee
NORTON H R L E AD ERS
benefits offering. On behalf of Norton, Lockton hired a team of
WA L K T H E WA L K
Benefits Education Specialists (BESs). These human resources
When Norton made the commitment to
professionals focus on helping all employees understand and fully
implement a Lockton Health Risk Solutions®
leverage their benefits through one-on-one meetings. Relevant
program, its senior human resources
voluntary benefits are offered to help address other potential risks.
leaders took the commitment personally by
This team also began handling day-to-day employee questions and
addressing their own health challenges.
managing the annual open enrollment process.
According to Tony Bohn, “I was the guy who
had more chins than hairs on the top of my
Survey feedback revealed high employee satisfaction and improved
head. I wore a size 42" waist pants and was
understanding of Norton’s benefits package. Best of all, this team
very unhealthy. And I was standing in front
has been run without additional cost or staffing, fully funded by
of our employees, telling them ‘You need to
adoption of voluntary benefits. Thanks to the support of the BES
team, the Norton human resources group is now is able to focus
primarily on strategic initiatives. “I don’t need to hire more staff
because I’m already getting what I need from the Lockton team,”
says Hammond.
live healthier lives or we’re not going to be
able to afford our health plan.’” Today he’s
60 pounds lighter and a model of the healthy
lifestyle that is actively promoted within
the organization.
Similarly, John Hammond came to the
An Evolving Partnership
realization he needed to make significant
According to Hammond, “I think the most important thing for
plan and it didn’t make a whole lot of
changes. “We were rolling out our wellness
me, as a benefits practitioner, is that Lockton partners with us.
sense for someone who was responsible for
That consultative approach is so very different. I haven’t found it
wellness to be in the shape I was in.” He
often in my career.”
began focusing on his health, losing more
“It’s a significant partnership,” says Bohn. “Lockton has helped
commitment to exercise and good nutrition.
than 100 pounds that he’s kept off due to his
us approach our benefits program from a strategic standpoint,
understanding our need to add value for our employees while
being good stewards of our organization’s resources.”
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