Yes, Virginia (and 49 other states) There is Healthcare Reform Beyond the Beltway
It’s easy to get so caught up in the battle over whatever healthcare legislation is before Congress, or the newest set of regulations to come out of the departments and agencies, that one can make the mistake of thinking that all healthcare reform has its genesis within the confines of Washington, D.C.
The truth, though, as spelled out in forceful detail by McKesson Corporation CEO John Hammergren (a Healthcare Leadership Council member) in a Forbes blog post this week, is that genuine, system-changing reform is taking place up and down the healthcare spectrum outside of the Washington Beltway.
His sound advice to his counterparts in the healthcare industry is simple and compelling: Don’t wait for Washington to enact change. Make it happen yourselves.
Mr. Hammergren cites hospitals and insurers that have reduced costs and improve the quality of patient care through sound use of information technology, adherence to evidence-based medicine and innovative delivery approaches and management techniques. As he writes, “Disciplined leadership and visionary planning turn intractable problems into exciting opportunities.”
Actually, the Healthcare Leadership Council is bringing that argument to government policymakers. Our HLC Value Compendium cites numerous examples, with the metrics to back them up, of private sector healthcare companies and organizations taking steps to improve the value of healthcare and improving patient outcomes. We believe these success stories can be a springboard for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation’s efforts to develop successful payment and delivery reform demonstration projects.
In the meantime, the next time we get caught up in the latest health policy political spat that has everyone inside the Beltway talking, we should remember the message in Mr. Hammergren’s Forbes post. What’s happening everyday in healthcare venues throughout the country, he writes, “is the kind of reform that no one will want to repeal.”
