Blair Childs, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, Premier, Inc., issued a statement regarding the latest initiative from President Biden, to promote competition in the American Economy.
In healthcare’s unique environment, competition is paramount and essential to lowering costs. In recent years, the healthcare system has become more competitive, not less, as evidenced by the emergence of new entrants and disruptors. For example, some insurers today are the largest employers of clinicians, not health systems. To maintain competition and lower costs in healthcare, the answer is not more regulation. Instead, we must undertake a concerted effort to move towards value-based care models where clinicians are incentivized to compete to deliver the best outcomes and prioritize value over volume. Continuing on this path to value-based healthcare is the best way to keep our system moving in the right direction.
Competition is also essential to lowering drug prices. The need to thwart anti-competitive practices related to patent thickets and pay-for-delay tactics has been long overdue. Solutions to address drug prices must be holistic and not simply shift costs from one segment of healthcare to another, while balancing the need to ensure that innovation continues to flourish.
