Affordable Care Together

We have a problem.

The way we receive healthcare in the United States is broken, and as a result, Americans are paying too much and are less healthy than other developed nations.

We all created the situation. It will take all of us working together to solve it.

The current situation is unsustainable; harder choices are coming. There are proven approaches to make headway.

The drivers of affordability are health, price, and waste.

Solving one issue in isolation does not achieve the goal. Healthier populations use fewer healthcare resources. Healthier populations create more productive communities. Price has no relation to higher quality or value. There are large deviations in price for identical services. Unnecessary services are causing clinical, emotional, and financial harm. Administrative waste is a financial burden on patients and providers and is burning out providers.

There are ways we can work together to change the system and make it sustainable for current and future generations.

This includes, education, investing in health, insisting on data sharing and transparency, changing and aligning incentives, engaging the community, and embracing new payment models.

Regional health coalitions across the country are developing action plans to address healthcare affordability.

The Kentuckiana Health Collaborative is one of those coalitions. We’re partnering with the Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement (NRHI) to bring healthcare affordability to the forefront of healthcare transformation efforts. Affordable Care Together is focused on health, price, and waste — the three drivers of affordable healthcare. In joining this effort, NRHI and its coalitions like KHC will leverage their collective strengths on efforts to improve affordability while preserving and improving quality. In addition, partnering with other national entities committed to solving the healthcare affordability problem will strengthen the effectiveness and reach of these efforts.

It’s time for community action.

Key healthcare stakeholders and like-minded local change agents have developed community action items to address healthcare affordability in our community.

In December 2018, approximately 100 healthcare stakeholders got together for “The Path to Affordable Healthcare,” a community health forum, to learn about the drivers of healthcare affordability and identify what can be done in this region to tackle the issue. Working in groups, participants brainstormed and defined goals to prioritize and improve healthcare affordability as it relates to health, price, and waste – the drivers of healthcare affordability. The action items were not limited to what the KHC could accomplish, but for the community as a whole. Ten ideas were identified and discussed with the larger group, and participants then identified and voted on their top three selections.

The KHC is discussing these action items with our leadership team to determine which are appropriate for our organization to pursue. Look for more updates in the near future.

Weren’t able to attend the event or want to revisit the content?

Review the slides given by “The Path to Affordable Healthcare” speakers Stephanie Clouser, Gloria Sachdev, and Emily Beauregard. Additionally, see what other communities are doing across the nation to address healthcare affordability in their areas.