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The AHA today hosted a forum in Philadelphia in which hospital and health systems leaders shared various strategies their organizations are undertaking to make health care more affordable for their patients and community.
 
AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack and Andy Carter, president and CEO of The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, delivered opening remarks and welcomed attendees to the forum.
 
“Affordability of health care services is a key priority for consumers, hospitals and health systems, and the AHA,” Pollack said. “These forums provide an important opportunity for members to learn from each other as they continue to redefine the ‘H’ and transform care delivery. They also help inform our work through The Value Initiative as we engage with key stakeholders, policymakers, think tanks and advocacy groups around this critical issue.”
 
During the forum AHA Chair-elect Brian Gragnolati, president and CEO of Atlantic Health System in Morristown, NJ, and other system leaders discussed a number of efforts they were implementing to address affordability through value-based strategies.
 
Another panel featuring AHA Board Member Steven Johnson, president and CEO of UPMC Susquehanna, Williamsport, PA; Richard Loomis, M.D., chief informatics officer of Clinical Solutions Elsevier; Janice Nevin, M.D., president and CEO of Christiana Care Health System in Wilmington, DE; and AHA Board Member Randy Oostra, president and CEO of ProMedica in Toledo, Ohio, highlighted examples of innovative approaches and programs their organizations were taking to address affordability and value. M. Beatrice Grause, president of the Healthcare Association of New York State, moderated.
 
Other sessions included a presentation by David Nash, M.D., dean of Jefferson College of Population Health in Philadelphia, and an update from Tom Nickels, AHA executive vice president for government relations and public policy.