Health Care Innovators Bring Medicare Reform Ideas to Capitol Hill
Two leaders in high quality, low cost health care delivery, Intermountain Healthcare and SCAN Health Plan, brought their ideas for Medicare reform to Capitol Hill at National Coalition on Health Care (NCHC) Forum. Intermountain Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Greg Poulsen and SCAN President and CEO Chris Wing spoke at the third in a series of NCHC-sponsored events designed to bring together key health sector innovators and thought leaders with Washington, DC policymakers and stakeholder organizations.
“Intermountain and SCAN have cracked the code in achieving real savings by improving care, not just shifting costs. As federal policymakers face today’s fiscal challenges, they would do well to heed their example,” said NCHC President and CEO John Rother, who moderated today’s event.
Intermountain Healthcare is a Salt Lake City-based nonprofit health system of 22 hospitals, a medical group with more than 185 physician clinics, and an affiliated health insurance company. Intermountain is recognized for its leadership in health care quality and manages to maintain per-person costs that are 43% below the national Medicare average.
Poulsen outlined his organization for aligning incentives around the health of beneficiaries, rather than payment for the services they use, structured around new “Shared Accountability” provider organizations. According to Poulsen, “There is ample evidence that health cost and health cost growth could be significantly reduced while simultaneously improving health outcomes for Americans. Aligning incentives around value can catalyze these improvements.”
Founded as Senior Care Action Network by seniors in Southern California, SCAN Health Plan has become the nation’s 5th largest non-profit Medicare Advantage Plan and now operates Medicare Special Needs Plans (SNPs)focused on the needs of beneficiaries that need institutional-level care, who have severe or disabling chronic conditions or who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. SCAN’s emphasis on enhancing senior’s ability to manage their own health and encouraging independence has kept 100,000 seniors out of nursing homes.
“The lack of care coordination for nine million Medicare-Medicaid dual eligibles is a looming crisis that threatens to overwhelm state and federal budgets and lock vulnerable populations in outdated models of care,” said Chris Wing. “We can and must do better.”
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| The National Coalition on Health Care, the oldest and most diverse group working to achieve comprehensive health system reform, is a 501(c)(3) organization representing more than 80 participating organizations, including medical societies, businesses, unions, health care providers, faith-based associations, pension and health funds, insurers and groups representing consumers, patients women , minorities and persons with disabilities. Member organizations collectively represent – as employees, members, or congregants – over 100 million Americans.Some members of the National Coalition Health Care (NCHC) do not, or cannot, take positions either on specific legislation, strategies or on any policies outside their respective mission areas. However, all that can, do endorse broad policy positions in support of comprehensive health system change. |
Document:
June 21 – Forum on Medicare Reform.pdf
Document:
June 21 Forum Presentation – Chris Wing – SCAN Health Plan .pdf
June 21 Forum Presentation – Greg Poulsen – Intermountain.pdf