During my tenure at ACC, I became involved with the ACC Value Challenge. As one of the only non-attorneys in the program’s steering committee, it was a value experience to peer deep into the industry.
However, failure to deliver value isn’t limited to legal services. I have a personal example I would like to share regarding healthcare. Below is an except from a letter I sent to the CEO of a local hospital corporation:
- After a degree of back-and-forth with our insurance provider, we were NOT covered by your institution. While this may be too great of an issue for you to address alone, it had a direct impact on the cost of care. For $50, I could have visited an ER for adequate care, a significant difference from what we were billed… almost $300! I see a great disconnect in the value provided by your institution and the cost of said services.
- After living in several parts of the country, including the complex and convoluted environs of New York City, your practice of billing for both staff and the facility is shocking. I have seen this many times for hospital care… but for an urgent care facility, this is ridiculous. The normal course of care at a hospital involves several distinct operational departments (e.g. surgery, housekeeping); the urgent care visit involved one room. At the least, this practice should have been explained during patient intake.
- Along with the operational aspects of running a health care organization, there is a key customer service component that is critical to perform consistently well. Transparency in operations, in effect providing information upstream, would earn a great degree of respect and would positively impact the reputation of your organization. However, given the amount of time spent on the phone with our health insurance provider, your billing staff and, ultimately, the total cost of care for a minor medical situation, the downstream impact of this activity has soured my opinion of your organization.
Much of the rhetoric coming our of Washington, D.C. as of late involves “changing” health care. Change is required: I personally believe that everyone should have access to health care. However, there are two key issues we must first recognize:
- Opening the government’s checkbook is a good way to go broke. The real change required is deep within the health care industry. Transparency, value, responsibility. Incorporate those concepts first.
- Health care organizations must recognize the value of personal responsibility and price services accordingly! Reward people that fight stress, eat well and limit (or abstain) from other vices. Pay for preventative care. Establish a scientific basis for alternative care. You’ll be able to recover these costs.
With an increase of value and decrease of costs (which are currently ridiculous), we can turn our attention to providing care to all citizens. It’s all about sustainability!
