Purchaser Business Group on Health (PBGH)

Thank you to the 20+ expert speakers who participated in our keynote presentations and four panel discussions at last week’s PBGH Annual Summit. These speakers tackled controversial topics, offering provocative viewpoints and inspiring an open dialogue amongst some of the most influential public and private purchasers in the U.S. Our shared goals: advancing #quality, driving #affordability and fostering #equity in health care. Here’s a highlight reel from the event: https://lnkd.in/ebYWAtby

Last week, more than 100 top U.S. employer, public purchaser and business leaders converged in Austin, Texas, for PBGH's Annual Summit. The event focused on ambitious goals centered on advancing quality, driving affordability and fostering equity in health care. Here are some key takeaways from the event: 1. The status quo is not an option. Keynoter Zack Cooper set the tone for the Annual Summit with his presentation, “Who Pays for Rising ESI Premiums?” In short, the impact lands squarely on workers earning $20,000 - $100,000, with individuals earning $70,000 being hit the hardest. What’s more, the short run mortality rate doubles after job loss. The Keynote Reaction Panel composed of Barak Richman; Sally Welborn; Anthony Wright; and Elizabeth Mitchell joined in on the discussion. Among the topics: employers’ fiduciary obligation; examples of innovation and successes; alignment with PBGH’s strategic initiatives; and the importance of policy and effective procurement. 2. We are at a make or break moment with the health care affordability crisis. We are not getting the return on investment on our health care spending and must take action. We know what we need to do to lead change. PBGH has made great progress on strategic initiatives - advanced primary care, maternal health, health equity and mental health and wellbeing - as well as driving affordability, access and quality through PBGH Advisory Services for fiduciary success. PBGH members are leading the way as innovators and stewards, sharing their strategies and hard learned lessons to benefit other members. We heard some amazing success stories from Michael Costello; Abbie Yant; Amy L.; and Jonathan Liu, MD, FACP, MD, with Randa Deaton, moderating the exciting discussion. 3. The transparency enabled by access to new data sets will enable employers to be better fiduciaries. Our expert panel discussed strategies for breaking through the façade of transparency to access more reliable data and benchmarks to empower fiduciary success: Won Andersen; Heather Britton; Mike Gaal; Celeste Parker; and Melissa Real, CCP, PHR. 4. It is a widely held MYTH that employers control health care costs and quality, but through collective action, WE CAN! When jumbo employers come together in a market, they have power to lead change. Policy is an important lever. In a compelling closing panel, The New Political Landscape and What it Means for Health Policy, PBGH’s Elizabeth Mitchell was joined by Shawn Gremminger; Heather Meade; Don Moulds; and Rob Paczkowski, CEBS for an engaging discussion on the moment we are in and the importance of PBGH’s policy work; the urgency to act; and the importance of jumbo employers’ voice. Policymakers need to hear about the work they are doing to provide health care to the majority of Americans in the U.S. The energy was palpable. Thank you to all our speakers, attendees and sponsors for their engagement and support of this riveting annual event!

Now Available: Maternal Health and Birth Equity Lay Conference Summary The PBGH #Maternal Health and #BirthEquity Lay Conference Summary is now available. The event brought together #employers, #PublicPurchasers, #providers, plans, #patients, and #GovernmentAgencies to discuss strategies to address maternal morbidity and mortality, eliminate disparities and improve birth outcomes. We heard from patients who shared their personal stories that underscore the maternal health crisis and dire need for change; learned about federal programs, progress with promising practices, maternal health policy, opportunities for advancing patient centered clinical effectiveness research (CER) and innovative employer strategies; and engaged in multi-stakeholder conversations about how we can drive improvements together. The event was partially funded through a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Engagement Award Initiative (#EASCS-34693). Read the Maternal Health and Birth Equity Lay Conference Summary here: https://bit.ly/3Bob6uD

What an awesome Purchaser Business Group on Health (PBGH) Annual Summit in Austin, Texas. We learned from Zack Cooper that increasing health care costs drive lower employment, taxes, wages, and health. We talked about the viability of Employer-Sponsored Insurance and what it takes to solve the affordability crisis. It takes abandoning the status quo and misaligned partners. It takes boldly going in new directions - new policies, collective action, direct contracting, and aggressive contracting. It takes running benefits - the second largest business spend - like a business. It takes a new infrastructure, decision-making authority, skills, capabilities, and courageous leadership. We heard from businesses and public purchasers that they can and are doing this. The question is can it be scaled - the short answer is yes! The why is that the American worker deserves better! Shout out to some of my favorite changemakers pictured below plus key PBGH’rs. Jonathan Liu, MD, FACP Logan Waterman, MPH Darren Fogarty Mary Powell Yasmin Vann Won Andersen Elizabeth Mitchell Raymond Tsai, MD MS Lauren Remspecher, MPH, CHES

We did it! We’re live in Seattle-Puget Sound area to bring advanced primary care on behalf of employers, such as The Boeing Company and eBay, so their employees can have better access to primary care and these companies can also invest more into primary care as a way to improve health outcomes, patient experience, and cost. Primary care is the one part of health care that you can invest more into to get better outcomes and lower cost. Seems like a good fiduciary strategy to me! “PBGH identifies top providers who meet quality standards based off of clinical best practices, purchaser expectations of patient experience, and administrative transparency to achieve the PBGH Care Excellence designation,” said Raymond Tsai, M.D., MS, a Family Medicine physician serving as PBGH’s Vice President of Advanced Primary Care.

We are thrilled with the excitement and anticipation for the PBGH #DirectContracting Forum, which begins shortly! The event reached capacity soon after it launched. Self-insured employers that engage in direct contracting are trailblazers, leading the way to affordable, high-quality health care. This industry-first event brings together some of the nation’s most influential private employers and public purchasers to share and discuss needs, interests and best practices for direct contracting with providers. PBGH and its members are leading the way to high quality, affordable health care. Don’t miss out on opportunities like this. Learn more about the value of PBGH membership (https://lnkd.in/gtUH_tXX) and contact Randa Deaton to join!

Congratulations to Amazon on receiving the 2024 PBGH Moonshot Award for Well-being & Health Equity! Amazon implemented a comprehensive approach to advancing health inclusivity and addressing employees’ health-related social needs across several benefits strategies. The Amazon Benefits team has a mission to create opportunities for employees, families, and communities to optimize their #health and well-being – including addressing health-related social needs. Read more about the initiative: https://lnkd.in/efsD6uJ6

Congratulations to CSAA Insurance Group, a AAA Insurer on receiving the 2024 PBGH Moonshot Award for Maternal Health & Birth Equity! CSAA Insurance Group developed an interactive, educational resource to support and facilitate employees receiving accessible, affordable, high quality #MaternityCare. The format made it easy for employees to connect the breadth of CSAA ’s health and #wellness programs, the company’s well-being program, EAP, paid bonding leave, and other healthcare benefits. Read more about the initiative: https://lnkd.in/efsD6uJ6

Congratulations to NextEra Energy, Inc. on receiving the 2024 PBGH Moonshot Award for Health Care Affordability & Accountability! The NextEra Energy team identified a more integrated approach to managing their #pharmacy and #MedicalBenefits, which will help lower costs for employees while providing greater insights into the pharmacy landscape to further enhance their benefits strategy. Read more about the initiative: https://bit.ly/49uAWcR

Congratulations to Cisco on receiving the 2024 PBGH Moonshot Award for Advanced Primary Care! Cisco developed a patient-centered health care model which offers advanced primary care integrated with #SpecialtyCare. Their program improves the #PatientExperience and the #health of Cisco’s population while reducing the total cost of care. Read more about the initiative: https://bit.ly/49uAWcR