Message from the CEO Ralph Silber – July 2013
As I mentioned in the May 2013 newsletter, the Alameda Health Consortium and Community Health Center Network, have been diligently preparing our Strategic Plan for the next 12 to 18 months because of the rapid cycle of change we have been experiencing with preparing for the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in January 2014.
There are three significant changes we are preparing for with our strategic planning.
- A significant growth in CHCN membership; approximately 17,000 HealthPAC patients will move onto the expanded Medi-Cal program on January 1st and a minimum of 5,000 patients will qualify to purchase insurance through the health care exchange with subsidies from the government.
- Thousands of Alameda County residents will remain uninsured even after the ACA is in effect.
- PPS Payment reform on the horizon; we need to prepare for the move to value based purchasing where our payment will in-part be based on the total cost of care as well as the actual health outcomes for our members.
On June 27th AHC & CHCN leadership met with our Board of Directors to develop our strategic plan. We incorporated solutions to the three major issues listed above.
- CHCN will increase and improve our capacity to serve the additional managed care members we will have due to the coverage expansion. We will also negotiate the best contracts possible for our member health centers in the new health care exchange.
- AHC will continue our health policy & advocacy efforts particularly at the county level to make sure we will continue to have funding for those who remain uninsured.
- CHCN will increase its capacity to help the health centers improve their performance on the things they will be measured for in the value based purchasing model including the total cost of care and health outcomes.
We know that by strengthening our ability to support operational improvements at the health center level, we will help our member health centers navigate the coming changes in health care.