What We Do
Our Track Record
Policy Entrepreneur
Helped design the “individual mandate” in the Affordable Care Act. Advised state and local governments, trade associations, insurers, and brokers how to stand up ACA insurance marketplaces.
Advisor
Led research for successful California ballot initiative (Prop. 56) that raised cigarette taxes and used them to fund state health care programs. Counseled biotech companies on how to form corporate political action committees.
Trusted Go-Between
Led national and state task forces credited with helping cover prescription drugs under Medicare, preparing hospitals for a possible bioterrorist attack, and reducing health costs for the state of California. Build coalitions of politicians, policymakers, and advocates.
Health Care Strategist
Showed employers how to reduce health spending through direct purchasing and bundling payments. Helped a large California research hospital adjust to new Medicare rules on risk-adjusted payments.
Investor Outreach
Topics have included Chinese health care reform and the overseas market for U.S. medical technology and services.
Public Speaker and Coach
Coached Yale University’s parliamentary debate team and was Canada’s high school public speaking and team debate champion. An extensive record of television, radio, and conference speaking appearances.
Case Studies
Making the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Fit the Needs of Small Business
In addition to offering individual and family coverage, the Affordable Care Act includes a marketplace in each state that sells ACA policies to small business through the SHOP, or the Small Business Health Option Program. By giving technical assistance to legislators and small business groups and responding to their ideas and concerns, LWH Consulting helped bring this marketplace into being.
After the markets were launched in 2014, LWH Consulting worked in tandem with a national small business advocacy group, supported by a major national health foundation, to study the best practices of implementing SHOP in several states, including California and Colorado. LWH Consulting and its partners undertook a national study and promoted these practices nationwide.
Private insurance brokers, who have been instrumental in steering individuals and small business owners to the state and federal ACA marketplaces approached LWH Consulting for advice on how best to interpret ACA regulations and conduct outreach, connecting the loop between passing the initial legislation and putting it into practice at the grassroots level.
Using Regional Strategies to Cut Health Care Spending
LWH Consulting was approached by a major Pennsylvania healthcare foundation that also runs a Regional Health Improvement Collaborative (RHIC), one of several hundred consortia nationwide. These organizations strive both to improve the patient’s experience with the health care system and to improve the health of local populations.
Through a combination of research and interviews with thirty leading health industry CEOs and other leaders, LWH Consulting produced four original reports that proposed ways for RHICs to control health spending while improving outcomes. These strategies ranged from the effective use of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) to putting Choosing Wisely recommendations into practice to using best practices in maternity care. These findings have gained national attention as well as fulfilling the goals of the original foundation sponsor.