National Institute of Health Care Management

Founded in 1993 and based in Washington, D.C., the National Institute of Health Care Management Foundation (NIHCM) is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization the works towards "improving the health of Americans by spurring workable and creating solutions to pressing health care problems" (NIHCM, 2017). The Foundation exists between the ideological space occupied by think tanks on the one side and associations on the other side. By providing evidence-based research and reports, the Foundation "sparks insights and collaboration" among health care groups, who then implement solutions to overcome obstacles in the health care industry. The Directors of the Foundation include some of the top CEOs of health insurance companies, while NIHCM's advisory board consists of academics, doctors, and former government workers.

Specific actions taken by NIHCM in the past include the sponsoring of grants for research to the amount of $2 million over the past 5 years. The Foundation has given awards in recognition of stellar journalism in the health field. It has hosted webinars on innovations in the health care policy and health care markets fields. It has charted the latest in health care data and discussed the implications of trends, has issued briefs on pressing health matters, and briefed politicians on these same matters on Capitol Hill.

A key health care issue that the stakeholder is influencing is health care coverage and how to make it more affordable for all. One of the ways it is influencing this topic is by bringing the top researchers, health care professionals, lawyers and political leaders together in a webinar entitled "What's Next for Health Policy?" Other webinars the organization has hosted along the same lines include "Improving Continuity of Coverage and Care for Pregnant and Postpartum Women" and "Prioritizing Super Spenders: Coverage and Care for High-Need Patients" (Health Care Coverage, 2017). There is a diverse group represented by the stakeholder: it includes patients, providers, insurers and representatives. The desired impact of the stakeholder is for patients to receive better coverage under current health care policy laws so that they can receive optimal quality care. Because health care is such a complex system, what benefits one group (such as patients) should also be beneficial to providers, to insurers, to pharmacists, and so on. In short, all stakeholders are considered by the Foundation -- which is why the aim of the Foundation is to bring together all representatives of all stakeholders so that solutions can be worked out that are win-win for everyone.

The perspective of the organization is that health care should be something that works for everyone and that all stakeholders should be protected by policies that are sound and effective. From providers to patients to insurers to manufacturers to government agencies that facilitate coverage -- everyone plays a role in the how health care is handled. Thus, by bringing these diverse voices together along with expert opinion informed by evidence-based research, the Foundation's perspective is that solutions can be achieved through education and teamwork.

NIHCM works with a number of organizations to promote social responsibility. These organizations include: UNICEF's Kid Power, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, the Trevor Project, Horton's Kids, Street Sense, CASA for Children of DC and Green Door.

The most senior leader of NIHCM is founding President and CEO Nancy Chockley. Her educational background consists of degrees from the University of Virginia and the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration (Nancy VanHuyck Chockley, 2017).

The duties and responsibilities of Chockley as CEO of NIHCM include working with health plan CEOs and policy experts "to advance strategic thinking and practical applications" (NIHCM Staff, 2017). This position is important because as founding President and CEO of the Foundation, Chockley serves as "a national voice in the health care arena" and acts as an advocate of sound, non-partisan solutions to health care problems that impact all stakeholders (NIHCM Staff, 2017). Through her work, she aims "to improve the health of all Americans through a robust array of programs, grants and awards" that empower researchers, experts, professionals and representatives to work together and build effective relationships (NIHCM Staff, 2017). Her position is important to the organization because she acts as the face of the Foundation and as the leading and guiding voice. As the CEO, her attitude, values, drive and initiative serve as the source that all other stakeholders draw from. She is responsible for setting the vision and the tone that the organization seeks to follow. Her work is important to health care as a whole because she endeavors to find solutions to all problems -- not just one or two or three. She leads a highly-skilled team of dedicated experts and professionals who want plans and policies that will benefit all stakeholders -- and to obtain those plans and policies means working with a highly diverse group of individuals, from politicians to providers to insurers, etc. The goal that Chockley in her position as CEO of the Foundation seeks to accomplish is to bring these diverse groups together, enable them to be informed on the realities of health care, the problems that currently exist, and possible solutions to those problems that could work for all. Getting everyone to agree to these solutions is part of the process of engagement.

The knowledge and skills required of this position are considerable. First, the position requires leadership. Leadership is a skill that comes with great experience, time, and accomplishment. A leader must possess social, emotional and cognitive intelligence in order to work with others and unite them under a common aim and vision. Second, the position requires intimate knowledge of the health care industry as a whole -- how all the major parts work together, how policy impacts providers and how providers impact patients, and how insurers are impacted by both and in turn impactful on each. Because health care is a complex web of relationships between professionals, researchers, governmental regulators, insurers, patients, providers, manufacturers, retailers and representatives, this position requires the ability to understand the role that each stakeholder plays and how to bring each stakeholder to the table and effectively involve them in the process of working out solutions to problems faced by all. Thirdly, this position requires administrative skills, since it oversees the entire organization. A person in this position must be able to obtain reports from lower level individuals and process that information in such a way that a clear picture and way forward is envisioned and used to drive the organization forward towards achieving its goals.

Some of the other stakeholders that the CEO of the Foundation works with include: Caitlin Ellis, Senior Research and Policy Analyst; Katherine McDonald, Communications and Brand Manager; Carolyn Myers, Director of Administration; Kathryn Santoro, Director of Policy and Development; Julie Schoenman, Director of Research and Quality; and Kristen Wade, Administrative Assistant (NIHCM Staff, 2017). The nature of the stakeholder relationship in the case of these individuals is that they are all working together on the same team to promote the aims and achieve the goals of the Foundation.

The impact that a person in this career might have in improving the health care system is significant. A person in this career would be working towards raising awareness on issues, problems and solutions obtained through evidence-based research. Awareness would be promoted among all the major stakeholders and representatives of the health care industry and goals promoted through interaction with these stakeholders. Essentially, the aim of a person in this career would be to bring stakeholders together so that a meeting of the minds can take place and those minds informed by the information and guidance provided by the Foundation. The impact of this activity would be to assist the health care system in overcoming obstacles, such as loss of coverage for individuals impacted by the new Administration's health care plan, or how to guarantee coverage for high-need patients. These problems have no easy solution, but by bringing the interested parties together to address these issues based on research and evidence, a solution to them is more likely to be obtained and implemented. A career in this role would be highly impactful and beneficial to the health care system as a whole because it would be oriented towards ironing out the wrinkles and making the system more effective through the implementation of research-based practices and policies.

In conclusion the National Institute of Health Care Management Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to understanding the issues and problems that affect all stakeholders within the health care system, from patients to providers to regulators and insurers, and helping them all work together towards solutions that benefit them all. Because of the complex nature of the health care system, such a Foundation is really necessarily, as it takes a macro perspective on the issues and enables dialogue among all stakeholders.

References

Health Care Coverage. (2017). NIHCM. Retrieved from https://www.nihcm.org/topics/health-care-coverage

Nancy VanHuyck Chockley. (2017). Linkedin. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancy-vanhuyck-chockley-06207a12

NIHCM. (2017). About NIHCM. Retrieved from https://www.nihcm.org/about

NIHCM Staff. (2017). NIHCM. Retrieved from https://www.nihcm.org/about-us/staff