Today I had the privilege of attending a panel discussion that included an impressive mix of Minnesota health care entrepreneurs, including Tony Miller (co-founder and previous CEO of Definity Health), Michael Howe (CEO of MinuteClinic), Kyle Rolfing (CEO of RedBrick Health and co-founder of Definity Health), and Brian Sullivan (CEO of SterilMed), as well as a lone, but no less impressive, health plan executive, Mary Brainerd (President and CEO of HealthPartners).

Much of their discussion revolved around the familiar health policy dialogue -- e.g., our pricing structure is broken, we’re not treating the chronically ill effectively, and consumers don’t pay enough out of pocket-- but some passionate words were exchanged in the question and answer, prompting both Tony Miller and Michael Howe to give inspiring speeches on the powerful way their businesses enhance lives. Miller skewered the notion that health care is a right; instead, he unabashedly argued that that health care is a business and it is only as a business that America’s health care system will succeed. Similarly, Howe lamented the “guild mentality” that leads people to believe that business and health care don’t belong together.

During the discussion, Howe made another interesting point. He said: “Data should become the currency of health care.” By that, he meant we should move away from the focus on episodic treatment and instead focus on management, and, specifically, management through regular periodic data collection.

Collecting this data is not expensive and can be used for many purposes. First and foremost, the data can alert people to problems before they become expensive problems. Further, the data just gets people thinking about their own health, which can encourage them to take ownership over their health, and, thereby, lead them to live healthier lives. As Howe pointed out, most people place the responsibility for their health on their doctor or some other health care provider. Yet research suggests about 50 percent of a person's health status is linked to their own behavior.

Two health plans companies based in Minnesota -- PreferredOne and UnitedHealth -- recently unveiled new plans that use data to reward healthy behavior. They administer blood tests upon enrollment to detect nicotine and determine cholesterol levels and they measure your body mass index, as well as a few other measures. PreferredOne has five data points with a benchmark linked to healthy living and for each benchmark the enrollee successfully meets, PreferredOne will reduce the $1,500 deductible by $100. Thus, someone could have a $1,000 deductible for the price of a $1,500 deductible. (The USA Today recently reported on businesses utilizing similar tests to penalize their employees' unhealthy behavior.)

Will $100 really steer a smoker to quit? Probably not. But what if someone knew that their premium would progressively and significantly decrease each year they refrained from smoking? Or, what if a premium could be based on data that showed regular exercise over the course of many years? If unhealthy behavior really represents so much of the health care bill, then insurers should be able to offer significant premium savings to those who choose to live healthy.

The fact is, future health risk and future health costs depend on a long-term commitment to healthy behavior. Why not reward that behavior?