The Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH), a not-for-profit 501(c)(3), has led efforts to transform US healthcare using the combined influence of some of the largest purchasers of healthcare services in the United States.
PBGH’s Member organizations -- private employers and public agencies -- are the most powerful voice for consumers and patients in the U.S. Ultimately, the profound concern of purchasers about the high cost and poor quality of healthcare puts them on the same side as the American public when it comes to driving improvement throughout the healthcare system.
PBGH’s approach is to use the clout and concentrated power of the Member organizations to test innovative healthcare methods in specific markets, and then to take successful approaches to scale across the U.S. PBGH also uses educational forums, user groups, and networking events to maximize the Members’ impact.
Since its inception, PBGH has made some of the most notable improvements to U.S. healthcare since, including launching the first public website displaying health plan, hospital and medical group quality and patient experience data, influencing the drafting of the Affordable Care Act to emphasize federal value purchasing and accountability, representing purchasers in the Meaningful Use Health IT roll-out, and implementing the Intensive Outpatient Care Program (IOCP) for Americans with serious chronic illness in five states.
Today, PBGH’s 45 professional staff members are dedicated to the success of 13 major PBGH programs, each of which promises to further PBGH’s important mission and vision.
Funded principally by contracts and grants, PBGH’s 2014 budgeted revenues totaled $19.1M. The federal government, which awarded PBGH a significant innovation grant through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), represents the largest revenue portion (47%). Although Member contributions represented a modest portion (10%), these contributions are critical as they symbolize Member interest in important change initiatives and catalyze funding from others.
