Building sustainable primary care through state policy

As a Public Benefit Corporation, Aledade seeks to create a health care system that is good for patients, practices and society. This mission extends to our public policy work, conducted through the Aledade Policy Institute.
While we continue to serve the needs of our physicians at the federal level, we understand there are deeper and more intricate needs within each state that require attention.
The Aledade State Policy Program aims to address these distinct, state-level needs by enlisting the support of dedicated staff and resources that will either bolster or build advocacy activities; deepen stakeholder alignment throughout the state; and serve as a convener between physicians, associations and legislators.
The State Policy Program is operating in 14 states (Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington) with plans to continue expanding in the future. Our goal is to ensure built-in state policy support in every Aledade market.
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Our recent outcomes:

  • Responsible for inclusion of VBC exemption in successful 2023 prior authorization reform legislation in Arkansas
  • Facilitated $2M in funding to practices in California as part of Discretionary State Aid grant opportunities
  • Member of the Health Can't Wait coalition focused on prior authorization reform in Colorado, resulting in successful passage of administrative burden reduction bill
  • Alignment with North Carolina stakeholders in support of primary care payment taskforce responsible for establishing standards for measurement and investment operations
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Keeping up to date on not only current bills and legislation, but also who is sponsoring, what is the landscape, who do we need to contract to get our voice heard, that's been huge for us because a lot of these decisions are made while we're busy taking care of patients.
Dr. Phillip Pounders, Little Rock, Arkansas
Physician-led state policy committees

Our state policy committees, led by physicians and facilitated by Aledade staff, provide a platform to empower and elevate the voices of independent and community-based primary care clinicians. The committees allow space for the clinicians to share their stories and data that centers their needs in preventive and value-driven care.

Committees meet regularly and comprise staff members across Aledade Accountable Care Organization (ACO) member practices, including physicians, nurses and office managers eager to remain informed and engaged in state policy development. Areas of advocacy and education include shaping the future of value-based care, primary care investment (focusing on mandated minimum primary care spend), combatting workforce shortages, telehealth, administrative burden reform and Medicaid policies including expansion, among others.

At our core

  • Physician-led policy committees
  • Legislative tracking and reporting
  • Stakeholder engagement and alignment
  • Issue advocacy and education
  • Opportunities for media spotlights, state policy convenings, payer engagement
  • Consultation with Aledade’s policy team
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Recent program outcomes
  • Responsible for inclusion of VBC exemption in successful 2023 prior authorization reform legislation in Arkansas
  • Facilitated $2M in funding to practices in California as part of DSA grant opportunities
  • Member of the Health Can't Wait coalition focused on prior authorization reform in Colorado
  • Alignment with North Carolina stakeholders in support of primary care payment taskforce
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Caroline Smith
Program Manager - State Policy
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Jennifer Lyons
Sr. Analyst - Southeastern Region (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina)
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Will London
Sr. Analyst - Mid-Atlantic Region (Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia)
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Gaston Lassalle
Sr. Analyst - Western Region (California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and Kansas)
Questions
Have questions? If you are interested in learning more about the State Policy program or have questions related to your market’s health policy landscape, reach out to Caroline Smith.