Marc L. Boom, President and CEO Houston Methodist (Part 2)

Tom Robertson, Executive Director of the Vizient Research Institute and Dr. Marc Boom, President and CEO of Houston Methodist, return to compare the U.S. health care system to other countries, contemplate challenges rooted in the fragmented financing system, and discuss the importance of addressing health disparities and traditionally under-funded areas such as mental health.

 

Guest speaker:

Marc L. Boom, MD, MBA, FACP, FACHE

President and CEO

Houston Methodist

 

Moderator:

Tom Robertson

Executive Director

Vizient Research Institute

 

Show Notes:

[04:14] Health care is closer to being a right versus a privilege.

[5:10] We have a health care structure where health care in the United States fills in an inadequate social safety net but isn’t designed for that, so we pay for it from a societal standpoint.

[05:23] When we look at health care from a societal standpoint, we don’t have the results other countries have, but  Dr. Boom firmly believes that if you are really sick, there’s nowhere better to be than the United States.  

[05:50] The U.S. should pilot health care rate regulation to see what works.

[09:40] No one would design the payment system we have in the U.S. today. It’s grossly inefficient, unfair and it drives decision-making to situations that doesn’t make sense.

[10:13] Need to address access issues and coverage. Data shows with Obamacare more people are covered, but not in every state because societally or politically we cannot answer how to get there. That’s fundamentally what we must do as a society so changes can be made.

[11:47] Need to think about our communities as a population, and not make decisions based on where people are with insurance.

[14:15] Need to redesign how we think about health care societally and hold accountability for broad-based health of a population.

[14:45] Need to address the fundamental underpinning issues of poverty and how it affects access to health care.

[15:43] Care needs to be a multidisciplinary team with social workers, case managers, mental health workers especially around complex care.

[16:14] Cost of pharmaceuticals and devices impacts the cost of care.

[16:24] Example: TAVR is a minimally invasive way to replace an aortic valve. The cost for the hospital system plummeted when it was introduced. People should be saving tons of money because there’s less time in the hospital, but instead the manufacturers priced the devices to fill in the entire price gap.

[17:03] Example: Hepatitis C therapy

[21:16] We’re in the business to deliver  unparalleled safety, quality, service and innovation.

 

Links | Resources:

Marc L. Boom biographical information Click here 

 

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