Almost any organization of any size can reduce at least part of its health care spend through coalition membership. The more members one brings to the party, the greater the potential savings. (Photo: Shutterstock)

We all know there is strength in numbers, but when it comes to purchasing health services, how do numbers translate into buying power? More specifically, health care buying power? Can any organization become part of a purchasing consortium, or are effective health coalitions limited to major employers that can bring thousands of plan members as a bargaining chip to the benefits table?

The answer: Almost any organization of any size can reduce at least part of its health care spend through coalition membership. The more members one brings to the party, the greater the potential savings. But no organization, regardless of size, can benefit from coalition membership without having the will to change its benefits strategy. And regardless of how many plan members a coalition commands, it still must be able to effectively negotiate with parties that have historically balked at price transparency.

Banding together

As pressure has increased on health care organizations and prescription drug vendors to be more transparent about their actual cost structures, more employers are collaborating to find ways to pierce the lack of transparency that has been characteristic of these providers. Cracking the cost code on medical procedures represents the Holy Grail for coalitions, since medical represents 75 to 80 percent of plan spending. While early coalition builders have found this to be frustrating, their persistence will pay off–if they are serious about reducing spending and stick together. But reducing medical costs will be hard work and the savings may be less than anticipated.