Supreme Court Decision

Earlier today I sent an email to all staff and physicians to give our perspective on the Supreme Court ruling.  I wanted to share that email today with the broader community.  As always, I welcome your thoughts and feedback….Mike

To:       All GHS Staff and Physicians

This morning, the Supreme Court ruled on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act and by a 5-4 decision has upheld the law.  This message is sent to you to offer a GHS perspective on the decision. 

Health care is a topic that has been top-of-mind in our country for many years.  Issues such as cost and access have been the subjects of energetic debates among friends and colleagues for years.  At GHS our position has been to develop a long-term strategy that would position our system for the future state of health care. 

We recognize that consumers, employers, insurers, and government payors are all concerned about the quality and cost of health care.  We understand that these concerns place high expectations on health care providers such as GHS to deliver highly reliable, safe, top-quality care at an affordable cost.  Our vision to transform healthcare for the benefit of the people and communities we serve reflects our commitment to being responsive to these needs and expectations of our patients, families and community.  Greenville Hospital System’s five multi-year goals were developed to engage GHS – at every level of the organization – in this transformation.  As you know, these goals are:

1. Become a Total Health Organization;
2. Become an Accountable Care Organization – here we’re really talking about becoming the health care value leader in the region;
3. Transform core organization structures and processes into a Highly Integrated Delivery System – as we’ve been working toward this goal for the past few years, we’re now talking about advancing clinical integration across the care continuum;
4. Improve care delivery and workforce development through innovation in academics;
5. Ensure a sustainable financial model that supports our vision and mission.

In recent weeks, many health policy experts have been predicting that regardless of today’s decision, there will continue to be a period of uncertainty regarding health care in the US.  We can expect this topic to be a focus of the presidential election later this year and the possibility of a post-election response to the Act to loom through the fall.  Know that, no matter what happens over the coming months, virtually no one is predicting a return to the historic status quo.  Our transformational vision and supporting strategy will position us well to move into a future state where health care providers are challenged to deliver on the value proposition of high quality care at an affordable cost. 

Don’t misunderstand.  We’re not indifferent to the conversations that are taking place among policy experts and at the family table.  We simply know that after the Supreme Court issued its ruling, patients and families still come to GHS in need of care, as they have for a century.  We know that they expect the highest quality care delivered in the most compassionate way, and at an affordable cost.  Our intention is to be there for our patients, their families, and our community.  We believe that fully embracing our Total Health philosophy will ensure that we are here for our community in another hundred years.

As we move forward and new provisions of the Act become relevant, I will continue to communicate with you.  I thank you for the role that each of you play in helping us reach our vision and delivering on our mission to heal compassionately, teach innovatively, and improve constantly. 

Michael C. Riordan

President and CEO

Following are links to some of the organizations that represent health care providers and academic medical centers like ours.  I offer these to you if you are interested in additional information and perspective about the Supreme Court’s decision.

Association of American Medical Colleges:   https://www.aamc.org/

 American Hospital Association:                      http://www.aha.org/

 American Medical Association:                      http://www.ama-assn.org/

South Carolina Hospital Association:              http://www.scha.org/