Carle Clinic Chief Administrator: Reforms now chief focus of DC talks

June 29, 2009 - PRLog -- URBANA, IL – Michael W. Bukosky, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of Carle Clinic Association, met last week as part of a delegation from the American Medical Group Association (AMGA) with numerous lawmakers and public policy officials to discuss health care reforms.

“While making our health care system more accessible and efficient has long been the goal of medical providers, the advent of a new administration has opened the door to a number of dramatically different views on how best to improve our performance,” Bukosky stated. “The only true agreement among policy leaders is that reforms are complex to formulate and require a new paradigm to be accepted throughout society. The most encouraging aspect of our discussions focused on ways to help Americans become healthier. Clearly, the answer to reforms will ultimately be found in a multitude of systemic changes—not one sweeping gesture.”

Mr. Bukosky, in his role as an AMGA board member, routinely meets with lawmakers at the state and national level. On this trip, his third to Capitol Hill, he met with representatives in the offices of U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Roland Burris of Illinois and U.S. Representative Tim Johnson (Urbana). Additionally, he met with Senator Max Baucus of Montana (a central figure in the national health care reform debate) and Congressman Aaron Schock (Peoria) to discuss the viability of such reforms as enhanced care coordination, changes to the health care delivery system, and accountability care organizations (ACOs). According to Bukosky, the AMGA considers those organizations to be the lynchpin for true reform.

“Creating a truly accountable health system is impossible unless we find a way to embrace value over volume,” Bukosky said. “The medical professional who comprise the membership of AMGA believe that results-oriented compensation will drive providers and consumers to a better partnership in health. To reach that goal, we support the creation of organized systems of care through accountability care organizations. These groups could collectively be the catalyst to encouraging enhanced responsibility, foster payment reform, and finally addressing problems we have supporting sustainable growth.”

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Carle Clinic Association is a private physician-owned group practice, founded 1931 in Urbana, Illinois. There are 330 physicians employed by Carle Clinic in 50 specialties and subspecialties at 13 regional locations.