Bellin Highlighted for Cost Containment, Quality and Workplace Care
When you read something in a national publication about Green Bay, it’s almost invariably about the Packers. So it was a pleasant surprise to read a long, glowing editorial about Bellin Health in today’s New York Times. The Green Bay not-for-profit health system is highlighted for using workplace clinics and other strategies to be a leader in effective health care reform:
“It has managed to rein in costs while improving the availability and quality of care — in large part by making it easier for patients to see nurses and primary care doctors. For employers, it builds clinics right at the workplace so workers can have minor ailments treated before they become serious, as well as many kinds of preventive care.”
Although I was a little surprised to see Bellin featured in such a prominent spot on the NY Times editorial page, perhaps I shouldn’t have been. Many of Wisconsin’s providers are leading the way in implementing the types of reforms envisioned by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which can transform the health care system. It is exciting to see Wisconsin health care systems like Bellin demonstrate that one of the keys to holding down health care costs is to make preventive care more accessible and affordable.
Today’s editorial provides examples of a number of Green Bay area employers who are saving money because of the workplace clinics. The Times notes that Bellin is also working to transform Medicare. It is part of a partnership chosen by federal officials to pilot a provision in the ACA that rewards Medicare providers for reducing spending and penalizes them if costs soar.
Read more about Bellin’s use of retail and workplace clinics in the Commonwealth Fund report from their Profiles in Innovation series. Another Wisconsin health system, ThedaCare, is also highlighted in a report in that series: “Redesigning Acute Care Processes in Wisconsin.” And read more about Wisconsin’s leadership in a very good article by Larry Avila in the Appleton Post Crescent a few weeks ago: “Researcher says state on right track with health care.”
These efforts are a great start, and the ACA can help other health care systems make similar improvements and can assist Wisconsin providers build on these first steps. As ThedaCare president and CEO Dr. Dean Gruner said in the Post Crescent article, “it feels great to hear someone say they like what you’re doing, but, we really have a long way to go.”
Jon Peacock
