A recent blog post in Health Affairs shows the health care system needs collaboration among all players to deliver high-value, patient-centered care. We are seeing this collaboration in action with two health care organizations that are working together to foster a value-based approach to medical innovation – Anthem and Lilly.
“As a health benefits company and a biopharmaceutical company, we approach this problem from different perspectives but with common ground,” write Samuel Nussbaum, former Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Anthem, and Lilly Bio-Medicines President David Ricks. “We cherish the value of medical innovation — both in discovery and delivery. We believe that innovative medicines can be an incredibly powerful and cost-effective way to improve people’s lives.”
All of us across the health care system want patients to have access to innovative medicines. So what will it take to get us there? Anthem and Lilly suggest better communication between health plans and drug companies prior to drug approval and regulatory pathways for value-based arrangements that clearly benefit the health care system and patients.
As drug prices continue to escalate, partnerships like Anthem and Lilly are essential to finding a solution that ensures affordability, innovation, and access for patients. You can’t have innovation without collaboration, and that’s why stakeholders across the health care system should continue to come together to drive value for patients and ensure access to life-saving treatments.