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North Carolina has received national attention for its approach to health care payment and delivery reform. Importantly, payment reform alone is not enough to drive systematic changes in care delivery. We highlight the importance of progress in four complementary areas to achieve system-wide payment and care reform.

North Carolina's largest health insurer currently estimates it will see a $593 million impact related to Covid-19, but its leadership says whether or not that affects premiums for its 3.8 million customers depends on the length of the pandemic and the resurgence of deferred medical procedures. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina has been working throughout the pandemic alongside hospital systems and state officials to prepare for potential surge of Covid-19 patients, rolling out multiple reimbursement policies, initiatives and investments.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina announced it will speed up payments to providers as they deal with potential short-term cash flow challenges from COVID-19. According to a Friday release, the company said it is also fast-tracking proactive steps to support hospitals, physicians, nurses and thousands of other health care providers across North Carolina as they mount a response to COVID-19.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) announced it is waiving member cost-sharing – including deductibles, co-payments, and coinsurance – for treatments related to COVID-19 if a member is diagnosed with the virus.

Getting access to your doctor could be difficult during this pandemic and we speak with a doctor who is currently with Blue Cross and Blue shield of north Carolina. He was formally with the CDC.

A major trend in delivery system transformation is the explosion in Medicare and Medicaid of what we call “advanced primary care,” which comprises a high-touch care model focused on team-based care, smaller panel sizes, modification of clinical workflows to incorporate data insights, and the assumption of substantial two-sided risk.

Dr. Sotunde is currently the president of the Medicaid division in the Government Business division for Anthem.

Dr. Nguyen is Vice President for Clinical Operations and Innovations over at Blue Cross and Blue Shield. He also spent time at the CDC handling other kinds of outbreaks before this and he's going to tell us how Covid-19 compares.