Opinion: Transforming healthcare one patient at a time

When the new Congress convenes in January, debate will flare anew over whether the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its various provisions are the best way to address America's daunting healthcare challenges. While headlines to come may focus on big national programs and policies, we would do well to consider what we are learning from on-the-ground experience. Better quality care, lower system costs and smarter national policy actually lies in local experience; specifically, what we are learning from mobilizing care around certain patients within their communities. Roughly five percent of people in the U.S. drive 50 percent of the nation's healthcare costs.