What are America’s Health Insurance Plans thinking about in these tumultuous times?

These times of uncertainty and stress press us to rethink what we are doing and where we are headed in terms of health care. I had a chance to speak with Matt Eyles, President & CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), and hear about the interest that U.S. health insurers have in race & equity, social determinants of health, surprise billing, national and state health care budgets and value-based purchasing.

AHIP and its members have been working on these issues since before COVID-19, but with the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on people of color, the urgency has gone up considerably. AHIP’s Project Link provides a venue for AHIP members to hear about best practices and test ways to reduce disparities.

We discussed looming state budget crises and how this will put immense pressure on Medicaid budgets. AHIP is supporting increased federal spending (the FMAP) to help states cover the increased enrollment and increased costs of Medicaid care delivery. Mr. Eyles reflected on Medicare Advantage plan successes and how this points to an increased focus on value-based purchasing (VBP). He points out that VBP is very different from the accountable care organization work set up under the Affordable Care Act: VBP is much more able to adapt to the needs of the population and inventive in care delivery options, leading to impressive results. He sees VBP as an important solution to help manage health care quality and spending.

Come listen to our discussion as we touched on surprise billing, telemedicine and more on the Inside Angle Podcast.

L. Gordon Moore, MD, is senior medical director, Clinical Strategy and Value-based Care for 3M Health Information Systems.

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