Q: Why should I participate in Premier?

A: Kansas and Missouri law allows employers to direct their employees' medical care for work-related injuries. Premier delivers an integrated system that gives employers access to quality medical care for their employees at discounted rates. Premier has contracted with area providers to discount their normal charges in return for the potential volume of patients resulting from this directed care. Thus, you pay a decreased amount in medical claims in addition to controlling utilization through the medical management service.

Q: How does it work?

A: The Premier provider network consists of hospitals, specialists, MRI centers, occupational and physician clinics and rehabilitation centers, all of which have a formal agreement with Premier to provide their quality services at discounted rates to Premier clients. Access to these providers begins at the primary care level. You designate your primary occupational medical care provider from a list provided by Premier. Then you may wish to select a hospital for emergency treatment, or when your primary care provider clinic is closed. You may select as many providers in the network as you need to cover the various locations you may have.

Q: Does Premier have contracts with the providers in their network?

A: Yes. Premier puts all the medical providers under a contract requiring them to participate in medical management communications, be expedient in providing appointment times and accept the discounted fee schedules as full payment for their service.

Q: Does Premier duplicate or interfere with my claims adjuster's role?

A: No. Premier's nurses are focused only on watching the medical appropriateness of care plans, and they never assume fiscal authority for the care. They make sure that the employer and/or adjuster has the opportunity to exercise their right of all authorizations. In a sense, the nurses are the key that assures all the providers are responsive, timely and communicate as needed with the adjuster and employer.

Q: How much does Premier save?

A: It depends on the acuity of service delivered, with savings rising as the complexity of the case rises. Premier provides a monthly itemized statement that reflects the normal costs of services rendered, discounts and savings to you.  On average, Premier will save clients 35-45% from billed charges.

Q: What does it cost to participate in Premier?

A: Premier bases its fee for network access, repricing of bills and medical management services upon the savings gained by your company. For specific percentages, please contact a Premier Associate at 800-613-1291.