OSU overhauls healthcare strategy

Aimed at lessening employees' medical expenses, improving healthcare and cutting expenses, Ohio State University is implementing large changes to its health insurance system.

In 2012, the school's health plan cost roughly $267 million in medical and pharmacy costs, up 8 percent from the year before, The Columbus Dispatch reports. The estimation doesn't include the 57,543 university employees' copayments and deductibles.

To lessen the heavy cost burden and encourage employees to adopt healthier practices, the school is participating in a plan that will adjust payments for certain care provided by OSU doctors at university medical centers, according to WKYC news station.

"The future of health care is self-care and preventive care, not just throw more money at more procedures," Dan Vukmer, the university health plan's new CEO, told The Columbus Dispatch.

The new system rewards healthcare providers for the quality of their work contributing to patients' wellness, not the quantity of patients they see. Payments will be fixed for a certain amount of time, no matter how much care a patient receives. Doctors will be recognized for keeping employees healthy and helping cut spending on unnecessary services by promoting preventative care.