SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Nov. 18, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox on Thursday announced the formation of a new effort focused on reducing health care costs and improving health outcomes for Utahns.
The Utah Sustainable Health Collaborative is the first of its kind in Utah and the U.S., said a news release from the Office of the Governor.
“The costs of health care have become debilitating for many Utahns and rising premiums are threatening the economic future of many Utah businesses,” Cox said. “As a result, I’m calling on providers, payers, patients, community based organizations, nonprofits, legislators, employers, and others to come together and create a more sustainable, value-based approach to health care that will benefit all Utahns.”
The primary function of this patient-centric collaborative will be to “convene and unite a broad group of partners to pilot different models of health service delivery, access, and payment; teach and learn from one another, and ultimately enable the health system to scale successful outcomes statewide to be most beneficial to all Utahns,” the news release said.
Attending this announcement along with Cox were Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson; Rich Saunders, chief innovation officer for the state of Utah; Amanda Covington of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies; Dr. Mary Jane Pennington, president and CEO of Granger Medical Clinic; Dr. Michael Good, CEO of University of Utah Health and dean of the School of Medicine; Mikelle Moore, senior vice president, chief community health officer of Intermountain Healthcare; Dr. Arlen Jarrett, chief medical officer at Steward Health Care; Dr. Filip Ross, division chief medical officer, HCA; Scott Barlow, CEO of Revere Health; Greg Bell, president and CEO of Utah Hospital Association; Senate President Stuart Adams; Chet Loftis, managing director of PEHP; Dulce Diez, director of the Office of Health Disparities, Utah Department of Health; Bill Crim, CEO of United Way of Salt Lake; Derek Miller, president of Salt Lake Chamber; Nubia Peña, director of the Division of Multicultural Affairs; and others.
You can watch a video recording of the announcement here.
