More than 18 months after the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law, the public sector is working hard to transform its business processes and systems to accommodate a revolutionary new paradigm for healthcare delivery. One thing is certain: yesterday’s legacy systems are not up to the task of managing tomorrow’s health data and business processes.

In a Webcast hosted by the HPM Institute, a panel of experts weighed in on the challenges facing the public sector as it gears up for the transformational new task of implementing healthcare reform and how cloud technologies can help accomplish those objectives efficiently and cost effectively.

The panel participants featured in the Webcast were:

• Liddy Garcia-Bunuel, Executive Director of Healthy Howard, a unique community health program for the uninsured in Howard County, Maryland

• Alice Burton, President and Founder of Burton Policy Consulting in Maryland, a firm that works closely with state-level and private sector clients to navigate issues arising from health reform implementation

• Gene Walker, President of HCI Federal, a provider of cloud-based technology solutions in the public sector

“We all know that healthcare reform legislation has had an impact on the healthcare landscape and how the public sector delivers healthcare,” said George Pantos, Executive Director of the HPM Institute. “Numerous challenges and barriers confront looming deadlines under healthcare reform legislation.” Cloud-based technology can be leveraged to help federal, state and local governments cope with these challenges.

The magnitude of that challenge is significant. A report by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) last year projected that government healthcare expenditures will top private spending for the first time in 2012. The Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program cost approximately $40 billion in 2010, including both premiums and out-of-pocket costs.

“From the state perspective as well as any other perspective, health reform is best described as overwhelming in its size and breadth,” said Alice Burton with Burton Policy, which helps state-level public and private sector clients navigate health reform implementation. “I think the biggest challenge in the area is the health insurance exchange and the reality of its change into a competitive marketplace. That’s very different for state policymakers to implement a new program, a new initiative, but really it’s just one of a series of options in the marketplace.”

Gearing up for health exchanges and other requirements of the ACA is an even greater challenge for the public sector – one that existing government systems are ill-equipped to manage. Cloud technologies provide the federal and state governments more bang for the buck because they don’t have to make huge technology investments. Cloud technologies also enable collaboration among the various stakeholders in the process.

To access the new post event report, please visit the HPM Institute's Website.