A business unit of the financial company JPMorgan Chase is advocating for improved employer-sponsored healthcare.
Morgan Health, which seeks to improve employer-sponsored health care for JPMorgan Chase employees, their families and the U.S. health system, has called for federal policymakers to prioritize reforms that advance and increase accountable care in Medicare and Medicaid, according to a June 8 news release. There are 160 million Americans with employer-sponsored insurance.
“Employee health issues are often categorized as being out of reach given [Employee Retirement Income Security Act] regulations, and as a result, many workers and their families contend with an antiquated health system that doesn’t prioritize quality, affordability or equity,” Vice President of Health Equity and Policy Orriel Richardson said in the release. “These solutions represent the fundamental building blocks of a health system that is accountable for health improvement and equitable care for an increasingly diverse workforce.”
Bipartisan support can help “accelerate accountable care initiatives among employers” through enhanced data sharing and strengthening the healthcare workforce, the release reported. Specifically, Morgan Health has called for “advancing data quality and uniformity standards across the health care system” and “addressing workforce shortages in primary and behavioral health.”
“An overwhelming majority of Americans have yet to see the full benefit of value-based care — a growing disconnect from the federal government’s focus on advancing a value-based agenda in public programs,” Morgan Health CEO Dan Mendelson said in the release. “While employers have made meaningful strides to deliver innovative care and benefits to employees, there are long-standing barriers that require Congress and the federal government to act in tandem with the private sector.”
Barriers to data collection, use and reporting can be addressed by finalizing a national provider directory, modernizing the existing Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 and consistent standards for race/ethnicity data collection, use and reporting, the release said.
Workforce shortages in primary and behavioral health can be addressed by JPMorgan Chase’s investment in job skills and training programs that address gaps, integration of primary and behavioral health care and empowerment of “on-physicians’ ability to practice to the top of their licenses and improve reimbursement for behavioral health care services,” according to the release.