Report of CAST Commissioners’ Meeting

CAST has released a report on the proceedings of the last CAST Commission meeting, held Oct. 29, 2016, in Indianapolis, IN. 

Melding Technology and Strategy: Health & Payment Reform and Business Lines provides a recap of the day’s presentations: 

• Rear Admiral Kathleen Martin, CAST Vice Chair, introduced her successor, Michael Rambarose, who will co-lead CAST into the next year of technological advancements and related business strategies.
  
  
• LeadingAge President and CEO Katie Smith Sloan presented the new LeadingAge strategic plan, which incorporated the role of technology. The plan envisions an America freed of ageism, with strategic goals that encompass social impact, alleviation of workforce shortages, member value, and innovative and entrepreneurial opportunities.
  
  
• CAST Chair Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, of the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, discussed health and payment reform. A growing number of providers of long-term post-acute care and long-term supports and services are playing a major role in alternative payment models. The Long-Term Quality Alliance (LTQA) has recent case studies, and CAST has identified additional providers and case studies.
  
  
• Guest speaker and former CAST Commissioner David Gruber, MD, of Alvarez & Marsal, shared an analysis of long-term post-acute care (LTPAC) business lines and how to plan strategically for the future. His presentation emphasized that data can bring efficiency to healthcare—and opportunity—if we look at data in new ways, using it to generate insights and foresights that yield better decisions and reduce costs.

During the meeting, CAST highlighted some of its most impressive and important achievements, which included:

• A new CAST Tool, Shared Care Planning and Coordination for Long-Term and Post-Acute Care: A Primer and Provider Selection Guide 2016, was released in October.
  
  
• Electronic Health Records (EHRs) for Long-Term and Post-Acute Care: A Primer on Planning and Vendor Selection 2016, which includes the new CAST 7-Stage EHR adoption model, remains an important way to estimate the sophistication of adoption of EHRs among CAST members and the long-term care post-acute sector.
  
  
  
• The Rural Health Care Connectivity Act of 2016 passed as a result of LeadingAge/CAST advocacy efforts. It includes skilled nursing facilities among the types of health care providers who may request reasonable telecommunications rates in rural areas.
  
  
• The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced the Lifeline program. Now low-income older adults can get a high-speed Internet connection for $9.25 per month. This program will be key to connecting low-income older adults and improving their health and quality of life.

       Check out the full report