On May 16, 2019 professor of health care policy and medicine Bruce E. Landon, MD, MBA, and 30th Anniversary Professor of Health Care Policy Haiden A. Huskamp, PhD, presented at the Ezekiel Hersey Council dinner. Joseph P. Newhouse, PhD, John D. MacArthur Professor of Health Policy and Management, moderated the presentation, interviewing Landon and Huskamp on the state of health care policy in the United States.
Landon and Huskamp began by explaining courses they have taught in the Department of Health Care Policy and how they believe the students carry the knowledge they gained in the classroom into their residency and practice. The discussion then moved to the possible effects on providers and patients of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and commercial insurers and commercial insurers pushing financial risk towards provider groups. In addition, some providers are accomplishing the same thing by integrating into insurance.
Many payment reform provisions implemented under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) require physicians to do more reporting in order to be paid. Many physicians feel bombarded and overwhelmed by these various measure and incentive programs. The group discussed the current system of quality measurement, reporting, and reward and how it impacts practicing physicians.
Newhouse noted that many view a well-functioning primary care system as a requirement for the success of health care delivery, including alternative payment models such as Accountable Care Organizations. Huskamp and Landon explored how the current reform initiatives impact the primary care system, and how important the primary care system is to these reform initiatives.
The Ezekiel Hersey Council recognizes alumni and friends of Harvard Medical School who have created a life income gift, named HMS as a beneficiary of a retirement, investment, or bank account, or included HMS in their estate plan. The Council is named after Ezekiel Hersey, who graduated from Harvard College in 1728. Hersey left Harvard £1,000 after his death in 1770 to support a professor of anatomy and physic at the university. This gift was the first donation that eventually led to the creation of Harvard Medical School in 1782.