Health Plans Ramp up for Healthcare Reform

There has been quite a bit of surveying centered on how hospitals and physician groups are preparing for healthcare reform.

Last week I spoke with Eric Paternoster, the CEO of Infosys Public Services, a Washington, DC-based business consulting and technology company that just released survey findings based on responses from 100 executives from 20 health plans.

In addition to how they are progressing in the implementation of healthcare reform, the executive responses provide insight into health plan priorities and the steps they plan to take to achieve those priorities.

Health plan executives have kicked healthcare care reform into gear. More than 80% say they are already implementing some type of reform measures or plan to implement them this year. The remainder say they are in the planning stages. No one responded that they haven't yet taken any steps toward healthcare reform.

However, readiness levels for key provisions of the Affordable Care Act—accountable care organizations and health insurance exchanges (HIX)—vary considerably. Some 39% of health plan executives said they implemented ACOs in 2011 or will implement them this year. Only 12% said they were taking similar steps for HIX.