Coca-Cola Joins 19 Other Companies To Bring Down Health Care Costs

It’s no secret that health care costs have been on the rise — employers and employees. That’s why the Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Company is banding together with 19 other major corporations to try to bring down health care costs.

Tevi Troy, CEO of the American Health Policy Institute, launched the Health Transformation Alliance, to which the companies now belong. He brought them together to find a way to reduce costs for their estimated 4 million employees. Troy says the companies all had various capabilities and lots of data, but lacked one key advantage to bringing down costs.

“They didn’t have a lot of leverage,” Troy said. “Even a large employer, like Coke, for example, they’re one employer, but if you brought together multiple employers you would have more leverage, more covered lives, more coverage throughout the country in terms of regional scope.”

Troy says the goal is to figure out ways to purchase higher-quality health care plans and to use collective leverage to make better deals in the health care marketplace. However, he says, the companies involved know it won’t happen overnight.

Though 20 companies have currently signed on, Troy is open to expanding the group. He says it’s possible other companies, like small businesses, could follow suit.

“We see it as a replicable model,” he says. “So, if we do this and more employers join, great. That’s more leverage. If other employers want to form their own alliances to do something similar, that could also help bring down costs and bring better quality.”

The Coca-Cola Company confirmed its participation in the alliance, but declined interview requests.

Other members of the health alliance include IBM, American Express and Verizon.