Note: This blog post is a companion piece to Care Ring’s “Seeking the Heart” podcast series in which we talk with leaders from across the region about their ideas and insights on how we can create a better health care system for ALL. To listen to “Seeking the Heart,” simply click here, or search for “Seeking the Heart” on your favorite podcast platform.
On this episode of “Seeking the Heart” we take a special look at the shift occurring across America’s health care system as paying for outcomes rather than paying for interventions becomes much more common. What does this shift mean for individuals with limited experience in a “value-based” system, and how can states and communities prepare to maximize the positive impact of this change?
Our guest, Phil Poley with Accenture’s Health and Public Service group, has been helping leaders understand and adapt to changes in health care in our country for two decades. Phil is a leading national expert in this field. He helps state and local governments maximize the effectiveness of their public health programs serving individuals with limited resources.
In our conversation Phil explains why health care is shifting away from a fee-for-service system to a system rewarding providers for achieving healthy outcomes. We talk specifically about the proposed Medicaid Transformation in North Carolina. While implementation of this new way of serving Medicaid beneficiaries is currently paused, leaders with the Department of Health and Human Services are confident this transformation will eventually happen.
Phil notes the special planning and coordination of proposed changes in Medicaid policy in North Carolina that have been in design for many years. This includes helpful guidance from NC DHHS on how North Carolina has an opportunity to improve the overall quality of health across the state as it transforms its Medicaid system.
We also touch on the powerful influence of the social determinants of health (Phil encourages us to think more about the “social risk factors” and how these factors impact individual lives), we hear about innovative health care interventions from around the country, and we learn from Phil how his early career as a journalist in Kentucky opened his thinking about why creating better systems of care is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do.
In addition to his professional work with Accenture, we are fortunate Phil is a member of Care Ring’s board. Phil leads our External Committee, assisting Care Ring in growing our impact and advancing our mission to help individuals with limited resources establish and maintain good health.
Author: Donald K. Jonas, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Care Ring