Catalyst for Payment Reform

Karen Sepucha on shared decision making

Suzanne calls up Karen Sepucha, PhD, director of the Health Decision Sciences Center in the General Medicine Division at Massachusetts General Hospital and an associate professor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School to discuss shared decision making.

So what do the data say? Well, they confirm a lot of what employer-purchasers are feeling at the moment.

“We’re seeing just about the fastest rate of health care inflation in our data ever.”

What’s a solution? Price Transparency Data.

We have all of this price transparency data, what are we going to do with it?

Well, we need a new model if we’re going to get consumers to use it. We have to get to them upstream, we have to make it really simple, and we have to change the incentives so that they save thousands of dollars by getting with the program.

Read More

Nick Reber on Doctor Quality Analytics

Suzanne calls up Nick Reber, CEO and Founder of Garner Health to talk price transparency, analytics, and quality.

So what do the data say? Well, they confirm a lot of what employer-purchasers are feeling at the moment.

“We’re seeing just about the fastest rate of health care inflation in our data ever.”

What’s a solution? Price Transparency Data.

We have all of this price transparency data, what are we going to do with it?

Well, we need a new model if we’re going to get consumers to use it. We have to get to them upstream, we have to make it really simple, and we have to change the incentives so that they save thousands of dollars by getting with the program.

Read More

Bob Galvin revisits the state of payment reform

Suzanne calls up Bob Galvin, CMO of Blackstone and chairman of CPR’s board of directors, to follow up on their previous discussion on the state of payment reform. So where are we at? Progress is slow, yet steady — we’ve had rain delays, changing pitchers, changing managers, but the game isn’t over.

Read More

Dr. Jeff Wells speaks about advanced primary care and Marathon Health

Suzanne calls up Dr. Jeff Wells, CEO and co-founder of Marathon Health to talk about advanced primary care models and how it fits in with onsite and near-site clinic, and virtual care.

Suzanne and Jeff dive into the term advanced primary care and how it differs from prior terminology used to describe high-value primary care strategies. In addition, they discuss why there is a lack of primary care providers compared to most other developed countries and what the future looks like for primary care.

Read More

Peter Lee on the last twenty years in health care reform

Suzanne calls up Peter Lee, the former Executive Director of Covered California to talk about the last twenty years in health care reform. He explains how many of the payment reforms executed in the commercial space have really been on the margins, and many employees are spending more for worse care than ever before.

So what’s the problem? Lack of real alignment on measures, and not enough dollars at play at the right level. “We focused a lot on provider level payment…not at the health plans. Health care is a team sport, if we aren’t making the quarterback of the team, the health plans, accountable for quality and value, nothing is going to happen.”

Read More

Aneesh Chopra on Price Transparency and Data

Suzanne calls up Aneesh Chopra, Co-Founder and President of CareJourney, to talk about the current state of health care transparency policy and how the US is faring. So, what’s the mood on current regulations and government oversight? “The general feeling in the field is one of skepticism,” says Chopra, but he’s much more bullish on it. According to Chopra, based on research CareJourney conducted in partnership with Turquoise Health, “two-thirds of hospitals as of the spring of 2022…actually have meaningful, high-quality transparency data.” The question now is are we going to see this information put to use?

Read More

Alice Hm Chen on Covered California’s commitment to health equity

Suzanne calls Alice Hm Chen, Chief Medical Officer at Covered California, and asks about her work in quality measurement and health equity.

As the nation’s largest state-based health insurance exchange, how is Covered California thinking about its responsibility to deliver equitable care to its member population?

“I think a key thing for everyone to embrace is, equity is quality…you won’t get to true high-quality care unless you are addressing equity.”

Read More

Roslyn Murray on Value-Based Payment Models in the Commercial Sector

Suzanne Delbanco speaks with Roslyn (Roz) Murray, a doctoral candidate at The University of Michigan School of Public Health and former Catalyst for Payment Reform employee.

Roz delves into her first peer-reviewed paper in Health Affairs, which concludes that the evidence on commercial value-based payment models is mixed. This is the first systemic review of the quality, spending, and utilization effects of commercial models, extracting results from fifty-nine studies.

Suzanne and Roz dive into why there is such little research in the commercial sector on value-based payment and compare Roz’s findings to research done in the public sector.

Read More

Alexandra Drane on Supporting Caregivers as Critical Care Partners

Suzanne Delbanco speaks with Alexandra Drane, Co-Founder & CEO of ARCHANGELS, diving into the critical role of caregivers and why they must be part of the clinical care team. She also discusses how ARCHANGELS’ Caregiver Intensity Index (CII) is designed to engage caregivers and help them see themselves in the role.

Read More

Jo Porter Gives Suzanne the Scoop on All Things APCD

Suzanne and Jo discuss the recent growth in APCDs across the country, renewed federal interest in APCDs, how states are collecting and sharing the information in their APCDs, and data barriers. Suzanne and Jo also discuss the benefits of APCD data for employers and other health care purchasers looking to create high-value benefits and health care programs for members.

Read More