In 2020, NCBGH will be advancing our stance as the employer voice in North Carolina advocating for a better healthcare delivery system.  North Carolina has become a leader in healthcare reform efforts, and NCBGH is driving these efforts on behalf of leading employers across our state.  

We look forward this year to working closer with providers.  As of December (2019) NCBGH became the North Carolina Regional Leader for The LeapFrog Group.  This partnership and authority with the premiere safety and quality designator for hospital systems and now ambulatory surgical centers will allow us to not only provide excellent additional data for employers, but also bring providers and payers together to improve communication and ultimately improve the quality of outcomes. 

We also look forward to working with Shatterproof and their ATLAS program for which North Carolina is a pilot state.  ATLAS will provide a free web-based platform to compare addiction treatment facilities side-by-side. ATLAS is based on the Shatterproof National Principles of Care, and will standardize measurement of addiction treatment facilities across all levels of care and types of treatment.

In 2020, we will expand our partnership with the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions  as well as other partnerships to focus on the following primary initiatives:

• Pharmacy & Medical Drugs: Driving value and alignment of healthcare stakeholders to better manage drug costs and deliver quality care.
• Healthcare Transparency: Empowering employers in partnership with the state and municipal health plans to collaborate with health care systems for increased value. 
• Episodes of Care: Using alternative payment models to increase care efficiency while improving quality outcomes at lower costs. 

We will also focus communication and ongoing support for employers in these areas:

• Wellbeing: Addressing all aspects of wellbeing so employers can better optimize organizational performance.
• Mental Health: Promoting systemic improvements and real solutions for serious mental health conditions prevalent across the NC workforce
• Oncology: Supporting employers to provide quality care throughout the patient cancer journey
• Opioids: Demonstrating the impact of effective interventions and community partnership to address challenges.
• Obesity: Engaging stakeholders to address obesity as a serious condition with significant health and economic consequences. 

We look forward to advancing communications in 2020 further in these areas through increased access for members to webinars, round tables, lunches and more.