Daniel J. Hilferty shares his insights on the impact of reform on rising health care costs
Philadelphia, PA – Independence Blue Cross (IBC) president and CEO Daniel J. Hilferty joined more than 200 industry leaders today to discuss how the Affordable Care Act can address significant rising health care costs at the National Journal’s “Countdown to Transformation” Forum in Washington, D.C.
Marilyn Serafini, respected Washington reporter and Health Policy Advisor for the Alliance for Health Reform, moderated Hilferty’s panel, “Bending The Curve: Can Health Reform Close the Rising Cost of Health Care?,” which included these distinguished experts:
- Keith J. Fontenot , Visiting Scholar, The Brookings Institute
- Katherine Hayes, Director, Health Policy, Bipartisan Policy Center
- Frederick Isasi, Director, Health Division, National Governors Association
- Clifford Ko, M.D., Medical Director, Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care, American College of Surgeons
- Elizabeth Mitchell, President and CEO, Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement
“This is a pivotal time in our nation’s history,” said Hilferty, two days after the launch of the first insurance health exchanges across the country. “A cornerstone of the law is to increase access to insurance for millions of people and we’ve supported that from day one. Now, we’re equally, if not more, focused on the next steps of reform, which are to address affordability, value and the quality of health care. As reform moves forward and health care undergoes dramatic changes, health care companies that thrive will be those with a clear vision that move rapidly and innovate.”
In his opening remarks, Hilferty highlighted how IBC is working to lower health care costs through collaboration and innovation. Among the initiatives underway are those that promote better primary care through patient-centered medical homes, which are models of high-quality, coordinated primary care that keep the chronically ill well. IBC has one of the largest concentrations of medical homes in the U.S. He also talked about IBC’s support of the region’s entrepreneurial community, including partnerships with Penn Medicine on the region’s first health accelerator and genomic cancer and medication adherence research.
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