Becker's Hospital Review

25 25 CEO/STRATEGY Former Medtronic CEO Bill George: No Legislation has Addressed the Nation's Biggest Healthcare Problem By Leo Vartorella T he ACA never addressed Americans' un- healthy lifestyles, which are the root cause of a majority of the nation's healthcare problems, writes Bill George, former CEO of Medtronic and a senior fellow at Cambridge, Mass.-based Harvard Business School, in an op- ed for CNBC. Republican efforts to repeal and replace the ACA would be disastrous for health insurance mar- kets, Mr. George argues, but that does not mean he does not see the flaws of the ACA. "e Trump administration's lack of a viable strategy for American healthcare just magnifies the original sin of the 2010 [ACA], which failed to address the root cause of America's healthcare problems: Unhealthy lifestyles," he writes. He adds that 50 to 70 percent of healthcare costs stem from unhealthy lifestyles, as 38 percent of Americans are obese and 70 percent are over- weight. "Instead of waiting until people are seriously ill with chronic, oen incurable diseases, America should shi its efforts to keeping people healthy in the first place," writes Mr. George. "As citizens, we have the responsibility to lead healthy lives, and share the fiscal consequences of our deci- sions when we don't. Until we do so, healthcare costs will continue to escalate, while our collec- tive health declines further." e federal government should develop a na- tionwide public awareness program to encourage exercise, healthy eating and stress reduction and also encourage government payers to reimburse nontraditional procedures such as acupuncture and weight reduction programs, he argues. He also suggests establishing community health sys- tems in underserved areas to help educate people on nutrition and exercise. n Northwell Health to Lay Off 107 as it Winds Down Long-Term Care Plan By Ayla Ellison N ew Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health will lay off 107 employ- ees in January when it shuts down its Medicaid long-term care plan, North Shore-LIJ Health Plan. In a statement to Becker's Hospital Review, Northwell said it is shutting down the health plan, which currently covers about 6,000 members across six counties, to focus on its "core business." The system will help those en- rolled in the long-term care plan transition to other plans during the wind- down process. According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act no- tice filed Oct. 12, Northwell will lay off 107 employees when it shuts down the health plan. The employees will be laid off around Jan. 5, 2018. Northwell's insurance unit has suffered significant financial losses. The sys- tem ended the first quarter of fiscal year 2017 with an operating loss of $36.2 million, compared to an operating gain of $29.4 million in the same quarter of fiscal year 2016. The loss was largely attributable to a $22.7 mil- lion loss by its health insurance company CareConnect and a $3.8 million loss by North Shore-LIJ Health Plan. In August, Northwell announced it will wind down CareConnect over the next year. Regarding the layoffs, Scott Becker, publisher of Becker's Hospital Review, said "Unfortunately, layoffs are again becoming commonplace. All layoffs are very difficult. When a system as large as Northwell tries to limit their layoffs to this amount, it's a sign of trying to be very careful with the human cost associated with layoffs. It's a very well led, compassionate system." n Aetna CEO: Successful Companies Manage People, Not Bottom Lines By Morgan Haefner T he CEO of Aetna said during a Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit in late October leaders who invest in the lifetime value of consumers and workers grow revenue and earnings. "Profit is an outcome of a well-run business based on sound business fun- damentals and a well-educated and happy workforce," Mark Bertolini, CEO of Aetna, said during the summit. "You don't manage a bottom line. Any- body who manages a bottom line is making a big mistake. That's why a lot of companies aren't around for a long time." Mr. Bertolini spoke about various employee health initiatives imple- mented at Aetna, such as monetary rewards for sleeping, student loan debt aid and mindfulness therapy. The insurer allocates roughly $50 million to $60 million annually toward employee wellness programs, ac- cording to the report. As a result, healthcare costs lowered among Aetna employees, he said. "Right now, we treat machines better than we do people in our businesses," he said. "That should be eliminated. We should either allow for deprecia- tion in employee investment or don't allow for depreciation in technology and machine investment." n

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