On September 17-18, 2021, Costs of Care, in partnership with the nonprofit Family Reach, virtually convened a group of patients, financial navigators, social workers, healthcare managers, billing specialists, national leaders, payers, and clinicians for our first Affordability Accelerator meeting.

The primary goal of the virtual convening was to identify opportunities for developing a more ideal clinical-financial care pathway that bridges the financial experience patients face with the clinical care they receive. The sessions began with stories from patients and caregivers. Participants were then asked to evaluate a specific patient clinical scenario that presented a high financial risk to a patient. Participants brainstormed ideas for a more ideal clinical-financial care pathway across key decision points in their care. 

Learn more about our Accelerator in NEJM Catalyst

Costs of Care created a primer for the program that included a high-level overview of common financial terms and relevant background. Patients, in collaboration with trained facilitators, guided each discussion utilizing a “nothing about us without us” approach to begin identifying meaningful and reasonable improvement opportunities for patients. Participants were tasked with thinking from both a health system and patient perspective to suggest potential solutions. 

A number of themes and insights for health system opportunities and interventions emerged, which will be summarized soon in a publication by members of the Costs of Care team. The next steps also include drawing on these themes and insights to create a national framework for health systems to develop initiatives focused on improving patient affordability.