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SALT LAKE CITY -- A biblical proverb states, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” The same could be said of governments and Utah Gov. Gary Herbert is determined to help create a vision for health care that will enable Utahns not to perish — but to thrive.
Our nation is facing a health care crisis and Herbert wants Utah to take the lead in developing solutions.
At last Thursday’s Governor’s Health Summit, Herbert shared a story illustrating one challenge facing governments and businesses that are trying to prepare for changes stemming from national health care reform.
After the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010, government officials in Utah discovered much of what the legislation required of them and were concerned. They had a number of questions about one mandate in particular. Herbert sent a communication to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) asking for clarification.
Time passed but no response came. When Herbert followed up, he discovered HHS could not answer his questions.
The reason?
HHS hadn’t finished reading the legislation. The health care reform bill was simply so extensive and complex that it hadn’t had time to formulate policies or answers to questions.
I'm not here to just whine and complain. I'm here to do something.
–Gov. Gary Herbert
In other words, Utah and other states were being asked to implement programs mandated by the federal government when the federal government didn’t completely understand what was involved.
This reality has created an environment of great angst and uncertainty for businesses and local governments alike.
For a governor like Herbert who is accustomed to achieving success through innovation and collaboration, the fact that states were not approached for feedback in the creation of reform is frustrating.
“That being said,” Herbert explained, “I’m not here to just whine and complain. I’m here to do something.”
In particular, Herbert wants Utah to take the lead in developing innovative solutions to health care problems in collaboration with the private sector.
“Our best natural resource in the state is not the extraction materials we have inside the earth,” Herbert said. “It’s the people that live here. “
“I’m confident that we can harness the collective wisdom of the people of Utah.”
The private sector will play a critical role in devising solutions to the nation’s health care concerns, Herbert believes. Whereas the federal government failed to solicit feedback from states in the creation of health care reform legislation, Herbert wants Utah to incorporate the wisdom of its citizens as the Affordable Care Act is implemented.
Herbert described the purpose of the health summit in a letter to participants, “By sharing information and ideas, Utah business owners, healthcare providers, and government leaders can design innovative solutions today and mitigate potential problems tomorrow.”
While the governor noted one of his purposes at the summit was to listen, he also laid out three goals which he feels need to be part of Utah’s health vision for the future: (1) stabilizing and reducing the costs of health care, (2) increasing access to health care, and (3) increasing the quality of health care.
These goals, which are also the same primary objectives of the Affordable Care Act, will not be easy to accomplish. The difficulty of the task notwithstanding, Herbert enthusiastically stated, “I’m excited about what we can in fact do by working together.”
In addition to Herbert’s address, the health summit also included remarks by former Utah governor and HHS Secretary, Michael Leavitt, as well as a videotaped address by Clayton Christensen, the world’s leading expert on disruptive innovation. A CEO roundtable was also moderated by Richard McKeown of Leavitt Partners.
Three breakout sessions discussed the Utah Health Exchange, issues surrounding health information, and controlling health care costs and improving the health of employees.
There were also four working groups where more than 100 experts and professionals interacted to solve problems related to Medicaid reform, cost containment, the workforce needs of tomorrow and the future of health information.
Insights gleaned from the summit will be used to assist Herbert and Utah officials in making sure Utah is in the driver’s seat when it comes to innovation and success in health care reform.
Herbert concluded his remarks by saying, “My health care vision for our state can be summed up in this statement: Utahns will pioneer health care innovation and reform, harnessing the power of collective effort and market principles as they strive to become the healthiest people in the nation.”
Kurt Manwaring is pursuing a graduate degree in public administration at the University of Utah. He is a consultant with Manwaring Consulting, LLC and maintains a personal blog at www.kurtsperspective.blogspot.com.
