A selective group of health system CEOs engaged with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Washington, D.C. on April 17. The interactive dialogue encompassed healthcare policy, financial provisions for research, digital healthcare transformation, and incentives for encouraging value-based care, among other topics. Secretary Kennedy, keen to gain from the attendees’ expert wisdom and learn about their effective programs, hosted this initiative.
One of the key contributors was Cliff Megerian, MD, occupying the Jane and Henry Meyer distinguished CEO Chair of University Hospitals in Cleveland. Dr. Megerian’s key observation focused on Kennedy’s active interest in value-based care and his willingness to learn. The policy of reward-based incentives caught Kennedy’s attention, as he visualised their potential in hospitals.
The ultimate beneficiaries of these incentives would be society at large – achieving improved health and reduced disease burdens. Three critical agenda points in the roundtable included: value-based care, administrative burden and use of technology. Kennedy expressed a steadfast desire to support health systems in their quest to pursue value-based care and populate health improvement.
One effective model presented was the Medicare Shared Savings Program accountable care organization of University Hospitals. The Program boasted U.S.’s second-best cost per hospital per year record, inciting curiosity in Kennedy about their success method. Expanding the idea to include a higher percentage of the payment system for fee-for-service and Medicare was proposed. This expansion aims to adopt some of the principles of MSSP, with some associated risk and rewards.
The group explored methods to reduce administrative burdens for health systems by collaborating different HHS agencies. The potential of AI and big data to pre-empt emerging patient risks was also discussed, along with the topics of data exchange, interoperability and cybersecurity. The roundtable discussion was not exclusive to urban healthcare centers. Kennedy showed equal concern for rural hospitals, further delving into the specifics of prevalent pain points for Medicare-dependent hospitals.
Topics such as reinforcement of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, sustainable payment policies and expansion of the 340B drug pricing program, were touched upon. Besides discussing the broad strategies, Dr. Megerian urged health system executives to connect with their congressional representatives, proposing solutions for deep-rooted organization issues, so as to be taken seriously. With the U.S. DOGE imposing new restrictions on federal healthcare grant payments, this approach is more relevant than ever.