Former CMS Administrator Andy Slavitt joined more than a dozen healthcare organizations for a new project that aims to improve Medicaid.
The Medicaid Transformation Project is a two-year project where health systems will implement “innovative solutions” to transform healthcare and related social needs for the nearly 75 million Americans who rely on Medicaid.
Seventeen health systems—representing 280, or 5 percent of the nation’s hospitals—has joined the project, including some of the nation’s largest systems. The organizations will work on five critical issues facing vulnerable population across the country, including behavioral health, women and infant care, substance use disorder and avoidable emergency department visits.
The five health systems anchoring the work include:
- Advocate Aurora Health in Chicago and Wisconsin
- Baylor Scott & White Health in Dallas
- Dignity Health in San Francisco
- Geisinger in Danville, Pennsylvania
- Providence St. Joseph Health in Renton, Washington
The health systems will meet their communities’ needs through the proliferation and adoption of shared digital solutions and innovative care models, according to an announcement.
“Healthcare today must be consumer-centric, and engage patients with personalized experiences,” Lloyd Dean, president and CEO of Dignity Health, said in a statement. “Together, we must bring down healthcare costs in order to provide access for the most vulnerable communities. It is my hope that our collaboration will unleash new avenues that bring down barriers to care and improve the overall health of our communities.”
Health systems typically spend about $23,000 more for Medicaid beneficiaries care needs than other populations. The project will be led by Avia, the health systems and Slavitt, who also founded Town Hall Ventures, a venture capital firm devoted to investing in and supporting entrepreneurs. Avia leads a network of 35 health systems to collaborate and scale digital solutions to common problems.
“The current healthcare system fails the people who need it most,” Slavitt said in a statement. “The Medicaid Transformation Project will be part of a decade-long journey leading some of the best health systems in the country. Our work will be to deepen and refine the best innovations and then implement them at an accelerated pace at providers across the country.”
The other leading organizations committed to the program include:
- Allina Health in Minneapolis
- Ballad Health in Johnson City, Tennessee
- Christian Care Health System in Wilmington, Delaware
- Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee
- Henry Ford Health System in Detroit
- Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston
- Navicent Health in Macon, Georgia
- OSF HealthCare in Peoria, Illinois
- Presbyterian Healthcare Services in Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Rush University Medical Center in Chicago
- Spectrum health in Grand Rapids, Michigan
- UVA Health System in Charlottesville, Virginia
The group will assemble a core team that will share best practices across the network of health systems and will feature a leadership council chaired by Slavitt and composed of health system CEOs. The project expects to move at accelerated force to push forth solutions as a result of its collective efforts.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."