August Updates

Kate Smith, MD, MPH Benchmark, DHSS

In a Facebook Live presentation on Monday, August 7, Secretary Odom-Walker announced a series of health summit meetings to
begin the conversation for setting a benchmark for reducing health care expenses in Delaware.

At the Delaware Health Innovation Center (DCHI) board meeting on Wednesday, August 9, Deputy Secretary Molly Magarik announced the following schedule of planned summit meetings (see below). This is supported by legislative resolution HJR7, that directed the Secretary to prepare a feasibility report due Dec 1, 2017 for the Gov and legislature on setting a state benchmark for health care expense reductions.

Summit Meetings:
9/7: Governor Carney to sign HJR7, benchmarking DE Health care expenses
Location and time TBD

9/22: Provider and hospital leadership meeting
Arranged in cooperation with the Delaware Healthcare Assoc and the hospital association, this will be a discussion with hospital and perhaps Medical Society leadership on their perspectives for reducing health care expenses in the framework of a benchmark structure.

9/29: Legal and regulatory issues
The Department is looking to the Delaware legislative leadership group for resources to speak on this, emphasizing people who have tackled health care expense reform elsewhere.

10/10: Governance and Authority supporting benchmark compliance
This will focus on the work that has been occurring in other states such as Vermont and Massachusetts, together with other models that are a work in progress in other states.

10/19: Data analytics to support the benchmark
This will focus on the number for the benchmark reduction that can be supported by the data analysis and is real in terms of achievable based on total cost of care methodology.

Additional information will be added as it becomes available.