Lessons Learned From the Pandemic

From the Board of Directors Chair

BY BILL WULF, MD, CHAIR OF AMERICA’S PHYSICIAN GROUPS

At this point it is rather trite to say it has been a difficult year … but it’s true. COVID-19 has presented the organizations of America’s Physician Groups with tremendous challenges over the past 14 months, and it continues to impact our lives on a daily basis.

Despite these challenges, I believe we would all agree it has been an honor to be a healthcare provider when the need for care has been so great. Our individual organizations, physicians, and staffs have served our patients and communities in a time of unprecedented need and often in the face of personal risk.

Our ability to innovate, sometimes daily, has been lifesaving. Many of our organizations quickly developed or expanded telehealth offerings to serve and protect patients and staff. Groups also provided COVID-19 testing using any and every technology we could procure. Today, our members are immunizing patients as quickly as they can obtain vaccine supply. Physicians’ direct involvement in vaccination efforts has surely encouraged their patients and quite likely improved immunization rates.

These and many other actions taken by APG members have been critical to protecting our combined 45 million patients. I believe our individual organizations have learned and developed a great deal during this past year that will serve our patients going forward.

THE NEED FOR VALUE-BASED CARE

One lesson learned is the necessity to be in value-based contracting. This is a lesson that the early APG members learned many years ago, but it is now clearly understood by the rest of us.

During the pandemic, unprecedented underutilization led to financial challenges for many organizations with a largely fee-for-service delivery system. At the same time, organizations with a portion of their contracting in true value-based (at-risk) care saw a financial benefit from this decreased demand for services.

The patient-level data available as a result of risk contracting also allowed physician organizations to identify—and reach out to—the most vulnerable individuals within our populations. APG has long supported and advocated for value-based contracting, and we will continue to support and encourage this model for all our members.

ADVOCACY MATTERS

A second lesson we learned this year is the value of APG’s leadership team and advocacy support at both federal and state levels. Whether it was Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan information or letters and virtual meetings with Congress, APG was front and center in advocating for physician organizations when we most needed it.

“Our ability to innovate, sometimes daily, has been lifesaving.”

I believe our interactions with Congress played a significant role in members’ ability to receive PPP dollars and a portion of the CARES Act funding for healthcare. Our advocacy also provided critical support for the much-needed coverage of telehealth services. I also believe our organization’s influence encouraged the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to move forward with direct contracting and was instrumental in the decision to not delay this program beyond April 1.

Quite frankly, we in APG leadership initially had a concern that there could be significant loss of membership during this difficult financial time. Instead, we have seen membership grow based on the tremendous value provided by our organization.

On a personal note, I look forward to the next two years as APG Board Chair. I follow a tremendous line of leaders in this role, and I believe our opportunity to help reshape healthcare has never been greater. Thank you for what each of you has done this past year to innovate and serve in a time of tremendous need. o

Bill Wulf, MD, is CEO of Central Ohio Primary Care (COPC) and Chair of America’s Physician Groups.