Social Service Payment: Identifying the social factors of health is part of a new program from a Michigan health plan. Starting in January, the plan will provide financial incentives to healthcare providers if they screen patients and report back these social risk factors. Click here to read more.
Extra Point: At about 11:45am on Tuesday the 8th, one of our panel discussions will feature Mona Chitre, the longtime chief of pharmacy and VP of integrated clinical strategy for Excellus BCBS, the head of healthcare strategy and payment transformation from Blue Carolina, Troy Smith, and a pair of behavioral health leaders, Ish Bhalla MD and Stephan Young, trying to reshape payment policy for SUD, SMI, and broader mental health for their health plans. I suppose it would have been more dynamic to do this from bar stools down in DC but ce la vie. I’m only 30% confident what I’ll ask, 50% certain what they may say, but about 90% certain you will hear my kid’s trombone and my daughter’s Julie and the Phantoms CD during the one-hour panel, plus probably a few “who stole my charger” and at least one “Dad! Zaggy pooped on my laptop again!” And because there are six of us online mid-day Tuesdays, there’s at least an 83% chance I’m moderating from the backseat of my 1997 Volkswagon, wearing a winter coat and an Italian cap. But if we’re to learn anything from this week’s feature about Priority Health’s brave move into paying doctors for, of all things, identifying social determinants of health, it’s that sometimes we need to adjust and do things differently. So on Tuesday, maybe, just maybe, I’ll shave, put on a tie and try to let the panelists steal the show…