BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A Pennsylvania think tank convened health care experts this week to discuss how to improve the health care system.
Doctors from Allentown, nurses from northeastern Pennsylvania and health policy experts spoke at an online gathering organized by the Commonwealth Foundation.
The foundation, Pennsylvania’s leading free-market public policy research institute, asked health care providers and researchers about their experiences with health care in the state.
They discussed what they saw firsthand and how they can make positive changes.
“Choice and control are the two buzzwords I hear most often from patients. Choice and control, they feel like they don’t have much of either.”
Dr. Kimberly Legg Korba, Allentown physician and family medicine specialist
“Choice and control are two buzzwords I hear a lot from patients,” said Dr. Kimberly Legg Korba, an Allentown physician and family medicine specialist.
“They feel like they have neither much choice nor much control.”
Reg Korba said he stopped accepting insurance at his clinic about 10 years ago and switched to an in-office payment model to provide primary care directly.
She said cost is the biggest concern in health care, followed by access and care.
Other panelists agreed, including Elizabeth Stell, director of policy analysis. Commonwealth FoundationThe Foundation is Pennsylvania’s leading free-market public policy research institute.
“Reducing medical costs”
Stell said her team has been looking at ways to reduce government over-regulation through something called “personal options.”
“The idea is that if you’re a patient, you have insurance and you know that if you need, say, an MRI, you have time to shop around and compare insurers,” Stell said.
“It’s not something you’ll need urgently. Ask for the cash price, and if you find a cash price that’s lower than what your insurance will pay, have it added to your deductible, saving the insurance company money and reducing your medical costs.”
Stell said he’s heard people across the state say they would rather pay out of pocket for minor medical services and use their insurance for major accidents.
“The broader framework is transparency and accountability.”
Elizabeth Stell, Director of Policy Analysis, Commonwealth Foundation
“The broader framework is transparency and accountability,” she said.
“Specifically, we will provide accountability and transparency around how patients enroll and stay in the Medicaid system, empowering them to shop and save, and making the system more convenient for them.”
She said more can be done to increase access to health care.
“Although the telehealth law was just signed, there is much more we can do to remove restrictions on providers so they can serve more patients and spend less time on paperwork, ensuring people can get care when and how they need it.”
“Remove restrictions on providers”
During the discussion, Dallas Riley, a nurse practitioner and owner of Hall & Riley General Medical Center in Shickshinny, Luzerne County, spoke about the limitations of the health care system.
He said nurses across the state face significant regulatory barriers that limit their scope of practice.
“There’s so much more we can do to ensure people can get care when and how they need it.”
Elizabeth Stell, director of policy analysis at the Commonwealth Foundation
“Having a collaborating physician is a requirement as a nurse practitioner, so if you don’t have that agreement, you can’t renew your license,” Riley said.
She said many nurses have to pay collaborating doctors $3,000 to $5,000 a month to see patients, but many of the patients never see the collaborating doctors.
The group also discussed ideal improvements within the system.
Stell said there are bills in the pipeline that could help improve how Pennsylvanians receive health care, such as legislation recently signed by Gov. Shapiro that expands telehealth across the state.
“While the telehealth law was just signed, there is so much more we can do to ensure people can receive care when and how they want,” Stell said.
“By removing restrictions on providers, they will be able to serve more patients and spend less time processing paperwork.”
The Commonwealth Foundation has a webpage dedicated to explaining it. Personal Choice Plan.
