PBN 2017 Fall Health Care Summit tackles ACA reform, opioid epidemic

Updated at 5:13 p.m.

DISCUSSING THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT and other issues at PBN's Health Care Summit are, from left, Melissa Cummings, senior vice president and chief customer officer for Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island; Zachary Sherman, executive director of HealthSource RI; Dr. Thomas Bledsoe, primary care internist at University Medicine Foundation; Dr. John B. Murphy, executive vice president for physician affairs at Lifespan; and Tia Bush, vice president for site operations at Amgen Rhode Island. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
DISCUSSING THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT and other issues at PBN's Health Care Summit are, from left, Melissa Cummings, senior vice president and chief customer officer for Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island; Zachary Sherman, executive director of HealthSource RI; Dr. Thomas Bledsoe, primary care internist at University Medicine Foundation; Dr. John B. Murphy, executive vice president for physician affairs at Lifespan; and Tia Bush, vice president for site operations at Amgen Rhode Island. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

WARWICK — Panelists at the Providence Business News Health Care Summit at the Crowne Plaza Providence-Warwick Thursday morning agreed that the Affordable Care Act won’t be repealed, changes to health care will take a long time for the system to adjust to and that the opioid crisis requires a multi-disciplined paradigm shift similar to how the country responded to the AIDs epidemic.

THE 2017 FALL PBN HEALTH CARE Summit drew over 250 attendees Thursday morning.More than 250 people attended the morning summit, split into two panels focused on the attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, health care costs, the opioid crisis, and the effects of health care and health insurance legislation on Rhode Island individuals and companies.

During the first segment of the summit, panelists said repeal of the Affordable Care Act isn’t likely. In the event the bill is revised, however, HealthSource RI Executive Director Zach Sherman said the health care system will take a while to adjust to it.

“I would point to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act as a very good example of huge, overarching change in the health care landscape. The ACA was passed in March of 2010, and it took about four years to stand up the reforms,” Sherman said.

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In the second panel of the Summit, panelists discussed the best approach to the opioid epidemic as one divorced from stigma.

Stephen Kozak, director of behavioral health services at Tufts Health Plan, said opioid addiction doesn’t reflect on a person’s character or morality, particularly since people in all walks of life are exposed to the drugs when they’re prescribed following a variety of medical procedures.

“These substances change the way the brain works,” Kozak said.

The stigma surrounding the epidemic is similar to that of the AIDs epidemic, said Dr. Martin Serota, chief medical officer for Prospect CharterCare Health Partners. The problem became much more manageable with the cooperation of doctors, researchers and the pharmaceutical industry.

“We need to do the same thing about the opioid crisis now,” Serota said.

THE 2017 FALL PBN HEALTH CARE Summit drew over 250 attendees Thursday morning. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

THE 2017 FALL PBN HEALTH CARE Summit drew over 250 attendees Thursday morning. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

Panelists also included: Tia Bush, vice president for site operations of Amgen Rhode Island; Dr. Thomas Bledsoe, primary care internist at University Medicine; Christopher Cote, managing director, London Health Administrators; Melissa Cummings, senior vice president and chief customer officer of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island; Marie L. Ganim, R.I. Health Insurance Commissioner; Dr. Alan Kurose, CEO of Coastal Medical; Dr. John B. Murphy, executive vice president for physician affairs at Lifespan; Dr. Martin Serota, chief medical officer for Prospect CharterCare Health Partners; Dr. Jason Spangler, executive director of medical policy and quality strategy for Amgen Inc.

This year’s presenting sponsors are Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island and University Medicine.

Partner sponsors include Coastal Medical, CharterCare Health Partners, Lifespan, London Health Administrators, Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island, Tufts Health Plan and UnitedHealthcare of New England.

Rob Borkowski is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Borkowksi@PBN.com.

Correction: A previous version of this story erroneously attributed Martin Serota’s words to another speaker.

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