Over the past year, we have had in-depth health-equity conversations with many health care and life sciences executives, and we have participated in quite a few conference panels on the subject. Based on our conversations, it’s clear that health equity continues to be seen as a business strategy. We have also heard that being a health equity leader can be a lonely job. It shouldn’t be. More than 80% of C-suite executives from life sciences and health care organizations see improved health equity as a top-10 goal for 2024, and nearly 50% expect to increase health equity investments next year, according to surveys conducted by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions.

Aetna is a “little bit behind” its peers in value-based care, but it can get ahead by leveraging the rest of the CVS Health business, Aetna President Brian Kane said. At CVS Health’s 2023 investor conference on Dec. 5, Mr. Kane said the company is “under-penetrated” in value-based relationships in Medicare Advantage but plans to change this over time. “Our value-based opportunity, I believe, is unmatched. Aetna, today, is a little bit behind our competition, but we actually have an opportunity to leapfrog our peers, not only because of the strength of our diversified portfolio, but importantly because of the CVS assets, both Oak Street and Signify, all the touchpoints — our pharmacies, our PBM,” Mr. Kane said.

How Rising Value-Based Care Tides Can (But Don’t Necessarily) Lift All Patients

MedCity News | December 4, 2023

As healthcare sprints toward value and away from volume, many physicians participating in value-based care (VBC) models are in the middle of a precarious balancing act right now. Value-based contracts demand different business and clinical practices from fee-for-service arrangements based largely on volume of service. And because many physicians still rely primarily on fee-for-service arrangements for the bulk of their livelihoods, practices often can’t afford a complete pivot toward value-based care. This position is often illustrated with the idea of these providers having one foot in two canoes – one in a fee-for-service boat and the other in a value-based care boat – that are drifting apart. As providers look to find more stability as they pivot into VBC waters, they need to be conscious of the partnerships they forge on this journey. Done correctly, the right collaborative approach can have significant positive downstream impacts for all of a practice’s patients – even the ones not currently in a VBC plan.

Clover Health is leaving the ACO REACH program at the end of the 2023 performance year, the company recently announced. While the insurer said that Clover will continue to fulfill all its ACO Reach obligations for the rest of this year, including sending a written notification to participating physicians as required by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CEO Andrew Toy said continuing in ACO Reach does not make sound business sense.

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