Group convenes to imagine new approaches to health care

Employers, care providers and insurers — the three pillars of the commercial health insurance market — shared their thoughts Tuesday at the Pittsburgh Business Group on Health’s annual executive leadership forum, Downtown.

And they quickly linked arms on one overarching theme: Health care will and must change, starting with where and how people get care, who provides it and how it’s paid for.

Collectively, the three panels painted a scenario where, in 10 years, one primary care physician may oversee 10,000 patients as part of a team approach that includes nurse practitioners, pharmacists and other clinicians.

Office visits will largely be a thing of the past, as technology enables exams and assessments to be done remotely. Pay models, meanwhile, will shift from high volume to high value — with the goal of keeping people out of hospitals.

“We’re not going to change anything with the health care system until we change the way it’s financed,” said Tony Benevento, Highmark’s senior vice president for regional markets.

The business group is a consortium of more than 90 employers that uses its group purchasing power and influence to improve health care locally while holding down costs. It also organizes events such as the one Tuesday to hear from healthexperts and exchange ideas.

One clear message was the importance of encouraging

“We need to move away more from sick care to well care. ... We can’t have the infrastructure we have now and see costs go down.” — Dr. David Richards, executive medical director, Excela Health Medical Group