Page 4 - May 2017

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A message from our SFHHA Events

interim President May 17th Spring Networker

Dada Restaurant and Bar, Delray Beach
American Health Care Act (AHCA) 6pm - 8pm

The rumor mill is rumbling and what it is saying is
that the President wants to take another run at replac-
ing the Affordable Care Act. Whether that will be a
possibility is in doubt, given that the U.S. House of How to Achieve Success
Representatives and its leader Paul Ryan, have not
indicated if anything has changed that would give with the Triple Aim
them the votes to move a bill forward.
So, just in case, I thought that this would be a good
opportunity to share what the hospital industry has Approach to Care
identified as being critical components of any replace-
ment bill. By Maryam Mahjoub, MSc, Guest writer for SFHHA,
First, the patient. That any replacement bill would Eligible Healthcare Marketing Professional
not reduce the availability of health insurance cover-
age is crucial. In other words, the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) has estimated that We all recognize that piecemeal projects and ad-hoc strategies rarely deliver the
24 million U.S. citizens would lose their insurance Jaime Caldwell success we need. Creating a unified, cohesive approach that can help improve patient
coverage over the next ten years if the AHCA passed experience and the quality of care, while reducing healthcare costs is the ideal. Let’s
in its current form. This reduction in coverage comes from many sources and call this the “Triple Aim” approach. It’s not always easy to adopt or implement; yet,
includes the price of health insurance (if the individual and business mandates are without taking an enterprise approach to improving operations, efficiencies and care,
lifted), loss of coverage if subsidies are discontinued, and loss of Medicaid coverage hospitals can never take full advantage of their investments.
owing to a downsizing of the Medicaid program. These are non-starters. There are three ways we can look at the Triple Aim: combining each into a single
Second, the shift to Medicaid block grants comes at a considerable cost. The OMB strategy, combining two and creating a parallel third strategy or keeping three indi-
estimated that the AHCA plan would cause the expenditure on Medicaid to decrease vidual but highly organized strategies.
by $880 billion over the next ten years. This “restructuring of Medicaid will have the First, how can we increase patient engagement in such a way to improve patient
effect of making significant reductions in a program that services our most vulnera- outcomes? How will this impact costs and revenue? For instance, can hospitals lever-
ble populations.” Many of the things that states are talking about doing to increase age their data to improve telehealth and patient portal use to help reduce unplanned
efficiency can be done through the current waiver process. This is a non-starter. readmissions and increase patient loyalty. If such investments are already in place, it
Three, that the current dollars allocated to the Medicaid program stay with the pro- is a matter of defining how to best leverage them.
gram. There is significant concern that any potential Medicaid savings will be shifted If the patient engagement platforms cannot improve patient outcomes, are they
to other programs instead of being reinvested in the Medicaid program in an attempt necessary? Are there ways we can improve outcomes independently? How will such
to identify other opportunities to improve efficiency. actions impact revenue streams?
Four, hospitals made significant financial contributions to allow the passage of the And finally, maybe the best practice is to separate each Aim and deliver the best
ACA. Over the life of the bill, the industry agreed to annual reductions in the market strategy within each so that patient engagement is increased, outcomes are improved
basket percentage and reductions in the Medicare Disproportionate Share Program. and costs are streamlined.
While the AHCA talks about doing away with many of the taxes and the individual Regardless of approach, by collaborating at the strategic level, hospitals can
and business mandates, there was no mention about restoring the hospital cuts (that empower their departments and staff to effectively execute on the Triple Aim objec-
are currently in the ACA). Expanded insurance coverage was the offset to these tives. Organizations that adopt a top-down approach and focus on defining their core
reductions and with the potential that the mandates are going away, the cuts need to practices within the Triple Aim can significantly reduce waste and ensure any invest-
be restored! ments made are being optimized.
I am sure that we will be hearing more about other suggestions about how we can Be sure to join SFHHA at our Healthcare Summit on June 14th to learn insights and
repair or replace the ACA. Just remember, the inclusion of the elements mentioned best practices as we focus on proven successes through the Triple Aim approach.
above will be critical. Keep your eyes open!

NEW MEMBERS:

2017 BOARD OF DIRECTORS The Miami Dolphins
Chantal Leconte Drew Grossman Patricia Greenberg MAXWELL+Partners
Chair, South Florida Hospital Member at Large President, National Healthcare Associates
and Healthcare Association CEO, Coral Springs Medical Center Michael Gittelman
CEO, Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital
Charles Felix CEO, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute
Lincoln Mendez Member at Large Charles Michelson
Immediate Past Chairman Publisher, South Florida Hospital Partner, SFHHA COMMITTEES
South Florida Hospital News & Healthcare Report Saltz Michelson Architects
and Healthcare Association James Ball Education Committee
CEO, South Miami Hospital David Zambrana
COO, Catholic Health Services CEO, Jackson Memorial Hospital
David Wagner Healthcare Finance and Management Committee
Vice Chair, South Florida Hospital Ana M. Viamonte Ros, MD Wael Barsoum, MD
and Healthcare Association Director Medical Staff Development CEO, Cleveland Clinic Hospital Health Information Technology Committee
CEO, Kindred Hospital, Hollywood Baptist Health Mark Doyle
Mary Zalaznik Maria Currier CEO, Memorial Hospital Pembroke
Secretary, South Florida Hospital and General Counsel Partner, Dr. Patrick Taylor Marketing and Public Relations Committee
Healthcare Association Holland & Knight, LLP CEO, Holy Cross Hospital
Sr. Vice President Operations, VITAS William Duquette Dr. Ann Wehr Membership Committee
Jeffrey Welch CEO, Homestead Hospital Sr. VP/CMO, AvMed
Treasurer, South Florida Hospital and Steven Ullmann Quality and Patient Safety Committee
Healthcare Association Director, University of Miami Lissette Exposito
CEO, Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center Health Policy Management CEO/President, Orange ACO Safety and Security Committee
Orange Care Group

4 May 2017 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News