Crowell & Moring and Crowell Health Solutions hosted a HealthTech roundtable with discussions focused on value-based care, health equity, data privacy, artificial intelligence, and other trends in health care technology in the Washington, D.C. office on October 27. The sessions featured numerous experts from health technology companies, advocacy organizations, and trade associations, all of whom have extensive experience advising on health care policy and business issues. Policy makers, thought leaders, health care innovators, and business executives also joined the conversation.

The first panel discussed the successes and challenges in value-based care, advancing health equity, and operationalizing value-based primary care. Panelists discussed current obstacles that health care organizations face in pursuing value-based care in the current operating environment coupled with the stronger profitability of the traditional fee-for-service model.

“We have seen the health care sector’s movement towards value-based care and the increase in the number of accountable care organizations. It will be interesting to observe the future of value-based care at a time when health care organizations are navigating high inflation and workforce shortages,” said Senior Counsel and Crowell Health Solutions COO and Managing Director Janet Walker, who facilitated the first discussion.

Panelists offered their thoughts on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center’s October 2021 Strategy Refresh and opined that the Biden Administration must acknowledge current challenges in its push to promote health equity and multi-payer alignment. They spoke about the importance of addressing health equity and the social determinants of health through value-based care, commented on their organizations’ efforts to treat patients across various population groups, and discussed the role of health care technology innovation in improving coordination of care. In addition, panelists spoke about the vital role that the acute care hospital-at-home program played at the onset of the COVID-19 crisis and the need for CMS to extend waivers for the program that were enacted during the public health emergency.

During the second session led by Partner and Crowell Health Solutions President and Managing Director Jodi Daniel, panelists discussed health data privacy issues as well as telehealth, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, and other health technology innovations. “Understanding the challenges, opportunities, and pitfalls regarding data privacy is important. Technology innovation relies on access to data. We must address the patchwork of state laws around data privacy in the United States,” said Jodi Daniel.

Panelists emphasized the need for a more comprehensive data privacy statute at the federal level and discussed the provisions proposed in the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (H.R.8152), which would establish a national data privacy framework. They discussed how the bill would impact the health care industry and interact with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Panelists stated that there needs to be additional data privacy guidance, especially with respect to data not covered by HIPAA, following the release of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

Additionally, panelists stated that federal statute is needed in order for certainty to develop health innovation and spoke about using AI to bridge gaps in health equity and using data that is representative of the entire population. They also discussed the potential for substantial cost savings by reducing diagnostic error through AI and machine learning innovation. 

The Crowell HealthTech Forum was co-organized by Crowell & Moring and Crowell Health Solutions, which is a strategic consulting firm focused on helping clients to pursue and deliver innovative alternatives to the traditional approaches of providing and paying for health care, including through digital health, health equity, and value-based health care.