Director of U.S. Health and Wellness Benefits Cecily Hall tells President Obama about some of the steps Microsoft has taken to provide its employees with affordable, comprehensive health coverage.

By Lou Gellos

Cecily Hall got the surprise of a lifetime on Mother's Day.

Out to dinner with her three children, Hall, director of U.S. Health and Wellness Benefits, got a phone call from work. She would be meeting with President Barack Obama on Tuesday.

"I was thrilled that Microsoft was being recognized," Hall said. Her children couldn't believe their mom was going to meet the country's most powerful person. "They were thrilled that I was going to meet the president," she said. The dinner ended on a high note.

Hall got the call because the White House wanted to hear about the innovative and unique way companies like Microsoft are approaching providing health-care benefits while also keeping the cost of providing such benefits down. Representatives from seven companies were invited to sit on the panel.

"You've got terrific innovations at companies like Microsoft, where they actually have used home visits of doctors to reduce the utilization of emergency room care and are saving themselves millions of dollars," Obama said.

Hall joined representatives from REI, Safeway, Johnson & Johnson, Pitney Bowes, Ohio Department of Health, and Hereiu Welfare Fund for what was to be a 50-minute meeting. Each participant was asked to present for three minutes. "The president was quite serious about it," Hall said. She said it's impressive that Obama wants to hear from the private sector and said that each panelist shared creative steps his or her company has taken to keep health-care costs down.

"The president was very interested to hear what Microsoft and other employers are doing to help their employees improve their health, which in turn can help manage costs," she said.

Hall arrived at the White House about a half-hour before their scheduled meeting and was escorted to an assigned seat at a large conference table. The CEOs of REI and Safeway were seated next to President Obama. Hall sat to the left of Safeway's CEO.

Obama specifically called out the creative lengths each company has gone to in order to make sure its employees have health coverage that is extensive and affordable. In particular, he noted that employers win when they help their employees stay fit because the cost of providing health care then drops.

Hall told Obama about Microsoft's HealthVault, weight management, and mobile medicine programs. It was the mobile medicine program that caught the president's ear. He asked Hall if it was similar to programs in France. She said yes and told him that the mobile medicine program keeps Microsoft's costs down by having a doctor make a house call when an emergency room visit is not necessary but care is needed. Three years into the program, the home doctor visits have turned into teaching moments that often lead to the employee and his or her family making lasting changes to improve their overall health, Hall said. What's more, their health data and electronic medical history then can be loaded into HealthVault and shared with primary care physicians. The goal is to encourage a personally controlled cycle of healthy living. In three years, participating doctors have made nearly 10,000 house calls in the Puget Sound region.

Hall told Obama that the program saves Microsoft more than $200 every time a visit to emergency room is avoided, or about $1 million a year. She also described to him that employees who use the service often get more personalized care and that they don't have to wait for hours in a hospital waiting room.

Obama also heard about a weight management program that has helped employees lose a collective 50 tons of weight, and thanks to clinical oversight, has led to behavioral change and helped them keep the weight off.

Finally, Hall told the president about Microsoft's division focused on using innovation to improve the way health care is delivered to people across the globe. She told him how Microsoft HealthVault lets employees personally store copies of their health records from sources across the health system and then use them to manage their health.

Hall said she tried to stick to her allotted three minutes but said the president would not let her, asking questions and taking advantage of the only benefits person in the room. She estimates her conversation lasted 10 minutes.

"President Obama was very cordial and warm. He really engaged in the discussion, he asked good questions, and it was clear he has an interest in health care and innovative benefits," Hall said. "It was an honor to be with the president. It's great he is interested in hearing about how employers are using some innovative approaches to improving employee health and reducing costs. I think he appreciated hearing some of what we are doing." Read Hall's blog entry on her day at the White House on the Microsoft on the Issues blog.