The Care Delivery Reckoning: ‘Employers Simply Cannot Afford to Maintain the Status Quo’
“If you come away with anything today, it’s that there is a collective readiness on the part of employers to act,” said Elizabeth Mitchell, CEO of the Pacific Business Group on Health at the Healthcare Finance NOW Summit.
From the healthleadersmedia.com article:
“Healthcare costs continue to rise and have a disproportionate impact on the broader scope of American life and the economy, Mitchell said, and it is the responsibility of healthcare leaders, rather than purchasers to change the industry’s trajectory.
Mitchell said PBGH has worked with its employer members in reexamining interactions with providers, developing innovative care delivery relationships, and achieving high-quality care at a lower cost.
She added that some employers have indicated it is their “obligation” to pursue narrow networks because those arrangements provide the highest quality and most cost-effective care on behalf of their employees.
Mitchell said employers believe they are aligned with clinicians because “employees are their patients,” so there is a mutual understanding for meeting quality and cost expectations.
While health benefit design is not the “day job” for many large employers, Mitchell said many are embracing direct contracting to “get the value they know their employees deserve.”