Connecting public and private purchasers for more effective health care solutions
Aristotle knew what he was talking about when he penned the phrase, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” In many aspects of life and business, we’ve learned that greater outcomes can be achieved when a group of people-or organizations-work together toward a common goal, with agreed upon parameters and metrics.
In health care, this sentiment has been proven time and time again. And it’s now more important than ever.
If we look historically at health care initiatives that failed when undertaken by an individual organization or entity, yet flourished as a collaborative effort with the proper industry expertise and guidance, it doesn’t take long to realize that we all benefit from a collaborative approach to health care. Minnesota is fortunate to have the type of business and health care environment that fosters and accepts collaboration as a key element of innovation. Consider the following examples:
- Payment reform-When BHCAG established the ChoicePlus product in 1992, it was with the intent to foster greater consumer choice, increased competition among providers, and improved quality. By uniting the interests of employers, health care providers, and individual consumers, we were able to develop a product that helped people make informed choices about where and how to spend their health care dollars. This initiative was so successful that the State of Minnesota adopted it as the model for its employee health plan. In addition, ChoicePlus was spun off and is now offered by one of the state’s leading health plans as part of their product portfolio. But the success of this initiative extends beyond of the borders of Minnesota, as tiered programs like ChoicePlus have become the foundation for consumer-directed health plans across the country.
- Patient outcomes-Minnesota Bridges to Excellence unites the clinical practices of physicians, the need to improve outcomes for patients with chronic conditions, and the broader public need for transparency around performance data. Providers who participate in Bridges to Excellence are helping to ensure that more Minnesotans receive optimal care for these conditions. Bridges to Excellence served as the basis for the Quality Care and Rewarding Excellence program launched by the State of Minnesota, as well as the public reporting structure adopted by the State.
- Patient safety-Patient safety should never be thought of as yesterday’s news. As one of the founding members of the Leapfrog Group, BHCAG has successfully worked with health care providers, employers, and legislative leaders to increase the public reporting of patient safety data and to educate consumers and employer purchasers on how to use this information when purchasing health care services.
- Health care data transparency and reporting-In all aspects of programming, BHCAG pushes for greater data transparency. For example, we bring together health care providers and legislative leaders to promote public reporting of outcomes and safety data. We convene employer purchasers, health plans and providers to address more cost-effective methods of reimbursing for care. And, we unite employer purchasers and health plans in an effort to promote health care consumerism through public reporting.
BHCAG has played a pivotal role in all of these initiatives-and in driving health care reform at a higher level. How? By uniting a broad spectrum of audiences-including public and private purchasers of health care, the medical community and political leaders-and connecting those individual interests to form a common goal.
To use a health care metaphor, BHCAG, like the connective tissue in our bodies, brings all the important players and functional areas in the health care and business community together to make health care work better. Because of BHCAG, and other employer collaboratives across the country, Minnesota has seen positive change in many aspects of health care.
As we look at the year ahead and the current state of health care reform, not to mention the still-slow-to-respond economy, purchasers will need to challenge conventional thinking and commit to working together to find solutions for some very complex issues. Changing a system that has been in place for decades and that is mired in broken processes that impact so many aspects of our economy will not be easy.
But, I have no doubt that if solutions are to come from anywhere, they will come from Minnesota. I look forward to working with BHCAG member organizations, the health care community, business leaders and political leaders in Minnesota and in Washington to meet health care reform challenges head on, and to demonstrate, once again, why Minnesota is a leader in health care and business innovation.
In the spirit of collaboration,
Carolyn Pare
President and CEO
