Better Solutions for Healthcare

The August 21 edition of the Keckley Report announced that six notable associations representing health insurers and large employers formed Better Solutions for Healthcare (BSH): “An advocacy organization dedicated to bringing together employers, consumers, and taxpayers to educate lawmakers on the rising cost of healthcare and provide ideas on how we can work together to find better solutions that lower healthcare costs for ALL Americans.”  BSH asserts, “over the last ten years alone, the cost of providing employee coverage has increased 47% with hospitals serving as the number one driver of healthcare costs.”

Its members, AHIP, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, the Business Group on Health, Public Sector Health Care Roundtable, National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions and the American Benefits Council, pledge to…

• Promote hospital competition
• Enforce Federal Price Transparency Laws for Hospital Charges
• Rein in Hospital Price Mark-ups
• Insure Honest Billing Practices 

Employers and Hospitals Must Work Together to Create Value

I had the opportunity upon request to speak to the Texas Chapter of the Hospital Finance Association in Dallas (August 26).  HFMA is a professional membership organization that helps healthcare finance management executives and professionals navigate the complexities of the healthcare industry.

I was asked to speak to the recently passed Texas House Bill 711 which became law in June after passage in the House (146-0) and Senate (30-1). HB711 now prohibits anti-competitive language in contracts between hospitals and health plans.

My message was one of a desire to better understand the perspectives of employer-payers and hospital providers. HBCH and its members want to work directly with hospitals to develop solutions that benefit both stakeholders.      

Key points made to HFMA were:

• We all share accountability
• Transparency is here to stay, and employers are taking notice
• Federal and state legislative “fixes” will continue
• Employers are building state and national voices
• Consumers are demanding change
• Work with us to build a better future for all, before it gets worse for us all

You can access the PowerPoint used in the presentation by clicking here.

Chris Skisak, PhD, HBCH Executive Director