Caterpillar recognized for employee healthcare management

Caterpillar announced Aug. 12 it was a finalist for the 2005 Medstat Innovator Award, which honors companies that successfully use data to develop a program that improves the quality of healthcare in a cost-effective manner. Caterpillar teams worked with Medstat to initiate a quality improvement program. One project, for instance, set guidelines for certain stomach acid drugs directing patients and physicians to use generic drugs as a first step in treatment before brand-name prescriptions would be covered by the plan. Caterpillar says the project saved employees and retirees more than $1 million in out-of-pocket expenses and significantly reduced the company’s costs.