Midweek update

PriceWaterhouseCoopers reports that “Employer medical cost trend has plateaued. PwC’s Health Research Institute projects employer medical cost trend will be 6 percent for 2019, the same as 2018. Cost reduction efforts will shift to prices.”  That plateau remains well above the CPI-U.  Will it ever come down to the CPI-U?

Health Payer Intelligence informs us that

The Partnership for America’s Health Care Future (PAHCF), a newly formed coalition, consisting of leading healthcare provider societies and payer organizations, has committed to strengthening the nation’s private and public payer ecosystems. 

AHIP, the American Medical Association (AMA), the BlueCross BlueShield Association, PhRMA, and the Federation of American Hospitals are founding members of the consortium. 

PAHCF’s mission includes improving the quality and scope of Medicaid and Medicare, creating greater stability in the employer-sponsored insurance market, and supporting patients to make cost-effective healthcare decisions.

Good luck to them.

In this regards, Health Leaders Media reports about Blue Cross of Arizona’s successful Shared Savings Program.

HLM: Where do you see this model in five years? 

Wallace: First and foremost, we wanted to make sure we could bring all stakeholders to the same side of the table with an aligned vision. We’ve been able to prove that out.We’re already in discussions with multiple health plans across the country, specifically in four states and we will be in pro forma financial modeling in the next 60-90 days with two of those plans.We created this joint venture entity for other health plans to buy into, and it is important to have an equity position in the joint venture, which means finding the right partner. Ownership will be diluted down allowing other partners to participate.The benefit is they have a key structure in place where we have a set of metrics that we know are improving quality and the outcomes are bringing the cost of care down, and it’s been proven.