Hospitals

Andy Slavitt and AVIA oversee the Medicaid Transformation Project

A total of 17 health systems will take part in the effort, which is co-led by Slavitt, who was the acting administrator of CMS under the Obama administration, and AVIA, an innovation network for hospitals and health systems.

By Erin Dietsche on August 22, 2018

Medicaid

Andy Slavitt, who was the acting administrator of CMS under the Obama administration, and AVIA, an innovation network for hospitals and health systems, have revealed details of the Medicaid Transformation Project, an initiative aimed at leveraging innovation to aid the nearly 75 million Americans covered by Medicaid.

A total of 17 health systems will take part in the project.

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The five systems leading the work are Chicago- and Wisconsin-based Advocate Aurora Health; Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health; San Francisco-based Dignity Health; Danville, Pennsylvania-based Geisinger; and Renton, Washington-based Providence St. Joseph Health.

The other 12 participants include:

  • Allina Health (Minneapolis)
  • Ballad Health (Johnson City, Tennessee)
  • Christiana Care Health System (Wilmington, Delaware)
  • Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
  • Henry Ford Health System (Detroit)
  • Memorial Hermann Health System (Houston)
  • Navicent Health (Macon, Georgia)
  • OSF HealthCare (Peoria, Illinois)
  • Presbyterian Healthcare Services (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
  • Rush University Medical Center (Chicago)
  • Spectrum Health (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
  • UVA Health System (Charlottesville, Virginia)

These systems span 21 states and include 280 hospitals and more than 53,000 beds.

Throughout the project’s two-year mission, the health systems involved will pinpoint, develop and scale solutions to assist Medicaid patients. They will work on solving challenges like behavioral health, substance use disorder, women and infant care and avoidable emergency department visits.

David Smith, who was previously with Leavitt Partners, will help guide the initiative.

“Our health system partners believe that this moment is unique and their leadership can have a seminal impact in catalyzing nationwide energy and focus on the challenges facing our communities,” he said in a statement.

The Medicaid Transformation Project was initially discussed at the AVIA Network Summit in Chicago in May, though details at that time were sparse.

At the summit, Slavitt reiterated why the Medicaid population needs healthcare’s attention.

“Compared to the commercial population, they have relatively ordinary healthcare needs and poor outcomes,” he said. “We dramatically underinvest in innovation in this community. We can change that.”

This endeavor isn’t Slavitt’s only advocacy effort. He’s the founder and CEO of Town Hall Ventures, a venture firm investing in technology to support Medicaid and Medicare members. Additionally, he is the board chair of the United States of Care, a non-partisan group that seeks to ensure all Americans have access to affordable healthcare.

Photo: zimmytws, Getty Images