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Family Feud’n at Datapalooza: What does the Medicare Advantage survey say?

The music at Datapalooza IV set a funkier and faster tone from the very beginning of the week, and the Family Feud’n competition blew away any remaining assumption that this was a typical industry event.

By on June 05, 2013

The music at Datapalooza IV set a funkier and faster tone from the very beginning of the week, and the Family Feud’n competition blew away any remaining assumption that this was a typical industry event.

Joshua Rosenthal, the co-founder of RowdMap, was a perfect copy of Richard Dawson at this game that set payers against providers. Rosenthal asked questions about a recent survey of 1,000 Medicare Advantage members.

When one of the doctors won the control of the board, the payer went around to the doctors side, and said, “Can I look over his shoulder as he answers? That’s what we do.”

The providers won 6 – 3, but one of the payers snapped back with “We are only going to allow 3 points.”

Here are the questions, would you have been able to take control of the board?

presented by

Question 1: What did patients rate most important about their Medicare Advantage insurance?

  1. Cost/Expense/Coverage/Benefits
  2. Availability/”Can I get Medicare Advantage?”
  3. Quality of Clinical Care & Customer Service

Question 2: What’s the most important thing that your doctor and insurance plan need to communicate about?

  1. Cost/payment/coverage
  2. Prescriptions and meds
  3. Personal care choices: sickness, death, sexual intimacy

(It’s true: coordination of care was not on the list, but the answer “Viagra” did win control of the board for the payers.)

Question 3: When we say hospital costs, you think …

  1. Excessively expensive/outrageous/inflated
  2. Personal financial impact/out of pocket cost/bankruptcy
  3. Health reform saving us/ACA can we fix it/reform

As Rosenthal said at the end of the contest, we are all working toward the same prize. Just as healthcare needs more humor, we need more people willing to talk openly – and even laugh – about the tensions between providers, patients, and payers. Extra bonus points to everyone who played on both teams:

Team Payer
• Eric Price, Chief Financial Officer, Visiting Nurse Service, New York Health Plans
• Elizabeth Strombom, Senior Vice President, Medicare and Medicaid, Florida Blue
• Bill Wray, Chief Operating Officer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island

Team Provider
• Jack Lewin, Independent Consultant
• Jordan Shlain, Private Practice Physician
• David Wennberg, Chief Executive Officer, Northern New England Accountable Care Collaborative