Hero Health Plans

It is with great sadness that I must report the death this week of Tom Emerick, stricken at an early age with premature Alzheimer's. His contributions to the field are legendary. He is best-known for "inventing" the Centers of Excellence model for Walmart (though he would be the first to credit Sally Welborn as well), which is now commonplace in the field. He was also the first Fortune 100 executive to drop those so-called "pry, poke and prod" employee screening wellness programs, which we know now to be useless if not harmful. He also questioned the economics of the PBM cartel when others still thought the PBMs saved money. He was ahead of his time in many ways, poking the health-industrialist bear, and yet (unlike myself) doing so graciously enough that he had many friends and few detractors. People would ask me what he was like, and I would say: "Imagine me, but with manners." (You can kinda tell which chapters he wrote and which ones I wrote in Cracking Health Costs for that exact reason https://bit.ly/3YZwePp.) Attached is the Validation Institute tribute to him. Please put remembrances in this thread that I will share with his family in a week or so. PS It was just suggested that I post his address for those who want to send cards, and I got the OK from Patricia to do that 16259 North River Ridge Road, WC2057, Fayetteville, AR 72704

Walgreens just agreed to a $100M settlement involving a case where they were alleged to charge insured patients more than cash pay patients. Now, you might be thinking... wait a minute... isn't this how hospital pricing works... the "negotiated" or "discount" rate for insured patients is often more (MUCH more) than the cash rate? And you'd be right. But I haven't seen any class actions against hospitals or insurance carriers... probably because the whole house of cards would crumble. The $100 million class-action lawsuit against Walgreens claimed that the pharmacy giant manipulated its “usual and customary” (U&C) price reporting to overcharge insured customers. Walgreens offered significant discounts on hundreds of generic medications through its Prescription Savings Club (PSC), where cash-paying members could access prices as low as $5, $10, or $15 for a 30-day supply. However, instead of reporting these lower cash prices as the U&C rate, which would have applied to insured customers as well, Walgreens allegedly reported much higher prices to insurers. This practice violated industry standards, which require the U&C price to reflect what a cash-paying customer would typically be charged. As a result, insured customers ended up paying inflated copays and deductibles, often at a far higher rate than those purchasing the same medications directly through the PSC without insurance. The complaint argued that Walgreens’ practice was deceptive and led to significant overpayments by insured patients, employers, and health plans. Folks - this happens every day with carriers and hospitals. Employers think they are getting a great negotiated discount from using carrier networks, but the numbers show that they are getting hosed - and so are their employees who may be on the hook for a substantial amount of the inflated costs because of huge deductibles. A cardiac MRI with a cash price of $1,218 is billed at a “discounted” rate of $3,678 for UnitedHealthcare patients—a staggering 200% markup. A defibrillator priced at $21,088 for cash-paying patients shoots up to $78,395 under United’s “negotiated” rate, marking it up by more than 270%. Why? Hospitals set artificially high sticker prices (chargemaster rates), and then insurers negotiate discounts off those inflated amounts. But these “discounted” rates are still far higher than the cash price. And, because patients are often required to use in-network providers, they’re locked into paying more—even though they have insurance. So ... how is the Walgreens case any different from business as usual with hospitals and carriers agreeing to pay inflated prices. Actually... not just agreeing...but mandating that employers and employees pay inflated prices. Who is looking out for purchasers... certainly not carriers... definitely not hospitals... and I even question whether the folks signing the contracts for employers are looking out for their own members. Ignorance is no longer an excuse.

Dear Friends, As you know, Hurricane Helene hit our neighbors in Western North Carolina particularly hard. Many have lost their lives. Some are still missing. Thousands have been volunteering day and night- without power and dwindling food and water. We have made a donation to World Central Kitchen, renowned for their effectiveness at providing nourishment to those in devastated areas. Please consider joining us in supporting these true heroes. To learn more, or to give, please click here: https://wck.org/. Thank you!

?? "We built Hero Health to reward high-quality, low-cost care." — Patrick Long is reimagining health plans. In this week’s Decent Healthcare Rebel Alliance series, I had the honor of chatting with Patrick Long from Hero Health Plans. His work helps to make sure providers with better outcomes get more business, pushing the envelope on what’s possible in healthcare. ?? Favorite Quote: "The best part of my job? It doesn’t feel like work." Check out the full interview in the comments! ??

?? Is Healthcare Technology Living Up to Its Hype? Share Your Views! ?? This latest episode dives deep into the true impact of healthcare technology with Dr. Spencer Dorn. Is health tech really the game-changer we think it is, or is the success dependent on how we implement it? Dr. Dorn and I discuss in depth at the link below. Give the show a listen and comment below with your thoughts. ?? Click below to read the full article on the RHV Web site and listen to the Relentless Health Value Podcast: https://cc-lnk.com/EP446 Also mentioned in this #healthcarepodcast: Spencer Dorn, MD, MPH, MHA; UNC Department of Medicine; Joshua Liu, MD; Tom X Lee, MD; Robert Wachter, MD; Shawn Gremminger #HealthcareInnovation #ClinicalEfficiency #EHRSystems #PatientOutcomes #RelentlessHealthValue

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