Arkansas - Digital Publishing

30 January 28, 2013 Arkansas Business
Arkansas
Business
Exec Q&A
To submit questions or interview suggestions, email GMoritz@ABPG.com
Dr. Joe Thompson is responsible for developing health policy, research
activities and programs that promote better health and health care in
Arkansas.
What can Arkansans do to be
healthier? First, we all need to
recognize our personal responsibility
for doing what we can to stay
healthy and not needing health care.
But inevitably we will need health
care, and we need a system that
both delivers high-quality care and
is aff ordable for all. Currently, one of
every four working-age Arkansans
does not have health insurance. At
the same time, more than 50 percent
of Arkansas adults are living with at
least one chronic disease like cancer,
diabetes or heart disease. As a result,
more than 16 percent of Arkansans
have reported that they could not see
a doctor due to cost.
Is Obamacare just a step on the
road toward a single-payer sys-
tem? It does expand government’s
role by subsidizing low-income
workers to buy private insurance and
giving states the opportunity to use
federal funds to help support the
poor through Medicaid, but its intent
is not for a single-payer system.
While improving insurance coverage
and access to care will save an
estimated 2,300 lives per year and
have economic benefi ts for our state,
the act does fall short on containing
the cost of health care throughout
the system. Luckily, we started the
Payment Improvement Initiative
before the ACA, and with businesses
and insurance companies we are on
the way to creating a more effi cient
and aff ordable health care system.
We need to take advantage of what
is off ered through the federal health
Definitely Delta Dental
At Delta Dental, dental and vision benefits are not a sideline
to our business – they are our specialty.
That’s why more than 2,900 Arkansas companies choose us to be
their benefits provider.
Delta Dental also offers affordable dental and vision
insurance for individuals and families.
Call or visit our website to learn more about how Delta Dental
can take care of all your dental and vision needs.
Delta Dental of Arkansas
www.DeltaDentalAR.com
1-800-814-3451
This Week: Dr. Joe Thompson
Surgeon general for the state of Arkansas
care law and at the same time work
to minimize the risks it contains.
What is your vision for the Payment
Improvement Initiative?
We are replacing a system in which
fi nancial incentives lead to visits and
procedures with one that centers
on the patients’ needs, eliminates
waste and achieves higher quality.
For example, one in four seniors
hospitalized for congestive heart
failure is readmitted within 30 days.
When the providers reach out to
help provide appropriate follow-up
care after discharge, the likelihood
of such hospital readmissions can be
dramatically reduced.
Has gun violence become a
public health issue, especially
with regards to mental health?
I think we need to take a look at
the root causes of gun violence and
develop evidence-based solutions
much in the way we address other
preventable threats to public health
like tobacco and obesity. We have
made progress in that mental health
services are now being covered in
most health insurance policies, but
that is just a start.
INSURING HEALTHY SMILES
YEARS
Bio: Joe Thompson
Bio: Besides serving as surgeon
general, general, Joe Thompson is also
director of the Arkansas Centerter
for for Health Improvement,
professor of medicine and
public health at the University
of Arkansas for Medical
Sciences in Little Rock and
a general pediatrician.
Education: Thompson
earned his medical degree
from UAMS and a master’s
degree in public health
from the University of North
Carolina in Chapel Hill.
How long can the country continue
with the current health
care model? Our health care
system is at a tipping point brought
on by an unhealthy population and
rising health care costs. Unless we
improve the health of our citizens
and create more cost effi ciency
within the health care system, we are
facing a tsunami of medical treat-
ment needs that we simply won’t be
able to aff ord. The good news is that
people recognize the problems. We
are fortunate here in Arkansas that
policymakers and many others are
willing to work together on eff ective
solutions. We are working toward
a comprehensive rebuilding of our
health care system that could well be
a model for the nation. n