Second annual conference calls for focus on health equity

The 2024 Innovations in Value-Based Care conference returned for its second year on Thursday and brought health care professionals together to discuss the rising adoption of value-based care models.The event, subtitled “From the Promise to the Power of Value,” and sponsored by Healthix and Helgerson Solutions Group (HSG), among other groups, explored challenges and potential solutions for meeting the clinical and social needs of patients. 

Todd M. Rogow, President & CEO of Healthix, Inc., at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Lower Manhattan where the event was held, gave remarks about the growing importance of data when delivering health care services. 

“Health information exchanges (HIEs) across the country are slowly moving away from the traditional interoperability and aggregation business model, and focusing instead on leveraging the richness of clinical data to support the communities we serve,” said Rogow. 

He noted in his speech that “the hardest part of change is not making the same decision you made yesterday,” later sharing his hope that the event would inspire attendees to “try new approaches” and “let [their] vision define the future of health care in New York.” 

Rogow passed the microphone to Jason Helgerson, CEO of HSG, who introduced Elizabeth Fowler, Deputy Administrator and Director at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI). The two spent the first keynote in conversation and talked about the Center’s recent programs that strive to address health disparities. 

Helgerson pointed out “some nervousness, particularly here in New York City, because of the long history of the health system being here at hospital center,” which could “create a feeling that the hospital is the center of healthcare university, to the detriment of community based providers.” 

Fowler agreed that “we need to try to figure out how to move more care into the community and primary care” and noted one of her organization’s models that provides a pathway for small independent practices into value-based care.

Helgerson also spoke with Karen Ignagni, CEO of EmblemHealth, for the afternoon keynote. 

Ignagni presented on the slow progression of value-based care over the last 15 years, highlighting how “only 10% of health care payments nationwide flow through population-based payment models.” 

After sharing that a survey showed that less than half of consumers were aware of the term value-based, Ignani emphasized that “we have to think more broadly. It's not just health plan to hospital, it's health plan to physician to hospital to PBM to community based organizations and a whole bunch of things in between.” 

She continued, “we have to map out what we mean by interoperability, and how do we achieve that? What are the steps along the way? It’s one thing to put out this elusive goal, it's quite another to step back and say, “Here's how we get from here to there.” 

The conference included six panels throughout the day, with “Track A” focusing on evolving relationships between payers and providers and emerging practices from non-traditional providers. “Track B” covered the role of AI in value based arrangements and innovations in long-term care. Both tracks featured conversations about the need to integrate social care into New York's health care delivery system. 

In addition to Healthix and HSG, the conference was sponsored by Healthfirst, InterSystems, MDLand, Ready Computing, Verato, Unite Us, Somos Innovation, findhelp, Garfunkel Wild, Housing Works, IIS Technology, J2 Interactive, PKF O’Connor Davies, PINC AI Applied Sciences, PrestigePEO, SpectraMedi, and IMA.