Health Plans Drive Innovation, With More to Come

Health Plans Drive Innovation, With More to ComeFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMarch 31, 2015

PLAINSBORO, N.J.—The nation’s health plans support the movement toward value-based payment, and they are doing so in a number of ways that are helping consumers, writes the head of the nation’s largest association of health insurance plans in this month’s issue of The American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC).

With “Innovation in Plain Sight,” Karen Ignagni, MBA, president and CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), is the latest contributor in AJMC’s series to mark its 20^th year of publication. Ignagni’s essay comes shortly after AHIP announced its support for historic value-based payment goals set forth by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which call for 50% of Medicare reimbursement to be value-based by 2018.

In her essay, Ignagni outlines the many ways that health plans are driving the movement toward better healthcare delivery, including:

• Employing a multifaceted approach to care coordination and disease management.
• Providing the data to promote disease prevention and chronic disease monitoring, since measurement is at the heart of value-based payment models.
• Connecting with patients to ensure they have the support and tools to navigate the healthcare system and manage chronic disease.
• Promoting healthcare choice for consumers by offering policy options that meet different health and financial needs.

Ignagni warns against steps by some states to require health plans to include specialty hospitals in their “high-value networks,” no matter what they cost. Limiting providers in these networks, she wrote, has resulted in premium savings for consumers. Ignagni also discusses the ongoing challenge of rising prescription drug costs. “Patients are experiencing take-it-or-leave-it pricing that jeopardizes access to the medications they need,” she writes.

To read the full essay, click here.

About the Journals

The American Journal of Managed Care celebrates its 20^th year in 2015 as the leading peer-reviewed journal dedicated to issues in managed care. Other titles in the franchise include The American Journal of Pharmacy Benefits, which provides pharmacy and formulary decision-makers with information to improve the efficiency and health outcomes in managing pharmaceutical care, and The American Journal of Accountable Care, which publishes research and commentary on innovative healthcare delivery models facilitated by the 2010 Affordable Care Act. AJMC’s Evidence-Based series brings together stakeholder views from payers, providers, policymakers and pharmaceutical leaders in oncology and diabetes management. To order reprints of articles appearing in AJMC publications, please call (609) 716-7777, x 131.

CONTACT: Nicole Beagin (609) 716-7777 x 131

nbeagin@ajmc.com

www.ajmc.com