The U.S. spends two to four times as much on healthcare as most other high-income countries, but the health outcomes lag behind, a new Commonwealth Fund study found.
“U.S. Healthcare from a Global Perspective, 2022: Accelerating Spending, Worsening Outcomes” is an ongoing report by the Commonwealth Fund that compares healthcare spending and outcomes, health status and healthcare usage in the U.S. with 12 other high-income nations and the average for all 38 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development members.
The U.S. remained the only nation within the OECD that does not offer universal health coverage despite spending nearly 18 percent of its GDP on healthcare, according to the report.
You can read the article by Mariah Taylor in its entirety where it was originally published by clicking here.
Steve Violette, PharmD, MBA
Steve Violette has more than 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry, including 18 years working within managed care roles for both payers and pharmacy benefit managers. He has held leadership positions in Clinical Management, Product, and Operations, with a consistent focus on Government Programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, and Individual Exchange lines of business.
Prior to joining TPG, Steve was the Senior Vice President of Government Program Operations at Optum Rx with accountability for the accurate and timely delivery of PBM services for more than 30 million lives, including but not limited to benefit readiness, claims processing, formulary management, program audit support, and regulated reporting requirements. He is recognized as an expert in the administration of Medicare pharmacy benefits and led PBM readiness efforts for major legislative initiatives such as implementing Part D changes associated with the Inflation Reduction Act.
Steve was previously the Chief Pharmacy Officer for UnitedHealthcare’s Government Programs team, where he successfully integrated distinct clinical strategy and operations functions to support United’s Medicare, Medicaid, and Individual Exchange populations. Steve participated in the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee and chaired the corresponding Formulary Management Committees for each line of business, representing more than $50B in annual drug spend. Steve was a member of the Part D Product team, lending support to the annual design, development, and deployment of Medicare pharmacy benefits. He was accountable for clinical and formulary strategies and deployed medical drug management initiatives that led to more than $300M in plan savings.
Over the years, Steve has held additional leadership roles within United Healthcare, Bright Health, and Cigna with broad responsibilities, including but not limited to analytics, clinical strategy, health plan operations, organizational transformation, product development, and population health.
Steve earned both his Doctor of Pharmacy and Master of Business Administration from the University of Rhode Island. He practiced as a community and long-term care pharmacist for more than 5 years and remains a licensed pharmacist in the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island. Steve was a visiting lecturer for the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy, teaching an annual course on Medicare from 2019 through 2024.
Dr. John Vazquez is a Physician Consultant with TPG International Health Academy (TPG-IHA). TPG-IHA has hosted educational programs for senior healthcare executives for 25+ years, holding week-long Educational Summits in over 30 countries across the globe. The Academy is powered by three pillars: education, networking, and cultural immersion.
Michelle is a Senior Consultant for The Pharmacy Group (TPG). TPG provides consulting services to healthcare service, information technology, and pharmaceutical companies to grow revenue and improve the financial performance of their products and services.
Sue is a senior consultant for The Pharmacy Group (TPG). TPG provides consulting services to healthcare service, information technology and pharmaceutical companies to grow revenue and improve the financial performance of their products and services.
Gayle is a Senior Consultant with TPG Data Services (TPG-DS). TPG-DS and our team of senior healthcare and clinical consultants are transforming the way providers and payors monitor healthcare information to control costs and enhance efficiencies.
Nancy is a Senior Vice President with The Pharmacy Group, responsible for all financial aspects of the TPG Family of Companies, as well as operational matters. She joined The Pharmacy Group in March 2012, in addition to performing the overall financial management she evaluates project profitability and pricing, manages cash flow, analyzes financial performance, and makes financial recommendations. Additionally, she handles HR functions, and frequently is involved in client contracting.
Jeff joined The Pharmacy Group (TPG) in August 2008 to support its administrative functions. Over the years he has taken on additional responsibilities including marketing initiatives, client communications, and general web support. As a vice president Jeff is primarily responsible for attendee recruitment for all TPG activities, from the planning and strategy of recruitment to the execution and oversight of those initiatives.
Mr. Brook has over 30 years in health care industry management and consulting. He has managed medical and health economic educational programs, convention activities, and promotional product support as both an employee and a consultant. He has worked on market access programs with the National Payor Roundtable since the organization formed in 2005, (as the National Managed Care Roundtable). He managed the daily operation of a pharmacy benefit manager’s formulary programs and was instrumental in the development and implementation of over 20 custom formularies. Mr. Brook has worked with state and federal agencies in refining the diagnosis-related-group system, in developing the resource-utilization-group system—part of the U.S. Federal Long-Term-Care Minimum Data Set, and in developing a mental health classification and reimbursement system. Mr. Brook has taken an active role in the developing and reporting the results of the National Payor Roundtable advisor survey. He reviews for several journals including the American Journal of Managed Care and Current Medical Research and Opinion. He has a variety of therapeutic experience with marketed and developmental products and holds several degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, including an M.S. in operations research and statistics, an M.B.A. in health systems finance, and a B.S. in management information systems.
Dr. Sax is co-founder and President of The Pharmacy Group LLC in Glastonbury, Connecticut where he provides marketing services to healthcare service providers; pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device clients; and information technology and companies to grow revenue and improve the financial performance of their products and services.
Rich Balest has served as a health industry consultant utilizing over 25 years of experience in data mining, data modeling, data warehousing, and information delivery. Rich has comprehensive experience analyzing detailed claims and eligibility from CMS, insurance companies, and managed care organizations including prescription benefit managers (PBM), and account and medical record detailed patient data from hospital patient accounting systems, clinical ancillary systems, and professional and institutional billing systems.
Sarah is a Vice President of Business Development for The Pharmacy Group (TPG). Her primary responsibility is coordinating business growth across the various LLCs in the TPG Family of Companies. She joined The Pharmacy Group in February 2015— initially to augment the organization’s business development and administrative activities. In the years since she has worked on marketing initiatives, client communications, general web support, and program development.
Marjorie Pestel Zimmerman, MS, BS Pharm, is a registered pharmacist with diverse experience in the healthcare industry. During her practice in a large tertiary care center, she held numerous positions, including decentralized clinical pharmacist and Assistant Director of Operations within the pharmacy department. As a consultant for a psychiatric hospital, she performed medical staff drug usage evaluations and led patient medication groups.
In August 2015, Leon Edelsack became the President of TPG Healthcare Consulting (TPG-HC) and also serves as the president of TPG-HC’s sister company, TPG Data Services (TPG-DS), a position he has held since 2009.