PBGH’s California Quality Collaborative, in partnership with Integrated Healthcare Association, secured a first-ever joint commitment with seven large health plans/payers in the state of California to expand patient access to advanced primary care by aligning payment, investment, transparency and practice support through 2025. The seven participating organizations are Aetna, Aledade, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California, Health Net, Oscar and UnitedHealthcare.

Four large purchasers launched a first-of-its-kind pilot with PBGH’s California Quality Collaborative to measure and establish standards for advanced primary care practices across the state. The participating purchasers are Covered California, California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), eBay and San Francisco Health Services System.

Building the first national network designed by and for employers, PBGH issued a landmark request for information to provide employers/purchasers with actionable data for more effective contracting with providers practicing advanced primary care. There was strong response from seventeen prospective partners and PBGH members are moving forward now using the results to select regional high-quality advanced primary care partners.

Nearly 3,000 patients with diabetes saw improved Hemoglobin A1c control thanks to technical assistance from PBGH’s California Quality Collaborative. Primary care teams in California were able to improve access to care and chronic disease management for more than 720,000 Californians with diabetes and asthma through telehealth services. Five lessons learned from their experience can be read here.

• PBGH hosted Mark Cuban at an event with employers from across the country to discuss the challenges created by PBMs and some of the efforts to change the ways PBMs do business that drive up costs for employers and American workers.

• PBGH convened large employers to develop common purchasing principles and harness their collective purchasing power to demand more transparency in the pharmacy supply chain.

• EmployersRx, a coalition of employer groups led by PBGH, worked with members of Congress to include purchaser priorities in PBM reform efforts and launched a public education campaign to make clear their priorities.

• Launched new regional/national initiative to provide self-funded employers intelligence needed to adequately perform their fiduciary responsibilities as required by the Consolidated Appropriations Act.

• Designed and initiated a fiduciary training program with the country’s leading experts for large employers to leverage newly available data.

• EmsanaCare, in partnership with The Boeing Company, launched its Michelin-style VIP access pass to high-quality providers.

• Subpop Health managed the data submissions from 18 national providers who responded to the PBGH Advanced Primary Care RFI. The company provides a platform for purchasers to simply evaluate the effectiveness of health care providers and services.