Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Podcast / Melvin Price, DPM on Expanding Access to Care and Preparing for Healthcare's Next Challenges

Transcript

Melvin Price, DPM on Expanding Access to Care and Preparing for Healthcare's Next Challenges · Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

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  - There's a small circle of people who truly
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  - understand what it takes to lead a health
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  - system right now. The decisions are enormous.
• 0:08
  - The variables are constantly shifting, and the stakes
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  - of getting a call wrong don't stay contained.
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  - That's not a complaint. It's a structural reality.
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  - And it's why the most effective c suite
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  - leaders are deliberate about where they go to
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  - pressure test their thinking.
• 0:22
  - Becker's fourteenth annual CEO and CFO roundtable
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  - brings together more than 1,500
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  - executive level attendees
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  - and nearly 400 speakers for four days built
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  - around growth, financial sustainability,
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  - workforce strategy, and the leadership questions that don't
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  - have easy answers.
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  - Join us November second through the fifth in
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  - Chicago.
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  - For the agenda and event details,
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  - visit beckershospitalreview.com
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  - and click on the events tab in the
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  - upper right.
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  - This is Laura Diredo with the Becker's Healthcare
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  - podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by
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  - doctor Melvin Price, president and chief executive officer
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  - of MCR Health. Doctor Price, it's a pleasure
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  - to have you on the podcast today.
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  - I'm really surprised to be here.
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  - Absolutely. Now excited for our conversation. I know
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  - we're gonna talk a lot about some of
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  - the cool things you're doing at MCR Health
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  - as well as how you're thinking about the
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  - future. But before we dive in, can you
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  - tell us just a little bit about yourself
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  - and your background?
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  - Oh, okay.
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  - I'm a podiatrist,
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  - by trade. I do I did a lot
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  - of foot and ankle
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  - surgery, a lot of limb salvage
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  - surgery. My specialty was in diabetes and reconstructive
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  - surgery.
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  - I've been with MCR Health probably now, what,
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  - twenty
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  - twenty four years,
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  - and twenty
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  - twenty years of, my stay at MCR Health
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  - was basically doing just that,
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  - being the, on the clinical side
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  - of MCR Health,
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  - being the chief of,
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  - staff and
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  - taking care of, vice president of medical affairs
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  - and things of that nature.
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  - For approximately four years ago,
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  - I kinda transitioned over to the
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  - executive side. So now I'm more of the
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  - administrative
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  - and no longer in the OR, no longer
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  - at, occasionally, will see patients because I I
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  - really do miss that part of,
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  - the job as far as
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  - having that patient interaction.
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  - But 99%
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  - of my time is spent on the administrative
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  - level.
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  - Got it. Absolutely. You know, it's really helpful
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  - to understand and cool to have a background,
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  - on the clinical side and and being able
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  - to still see patients and fill that bucket
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  - as well.
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  - Now,
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  - could you give us a quick state of
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  - the union for MCR Health? What's going well
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  - this year, and what are you focused on
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  - for the rest of 2026?
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  - Well, what's going well with us,
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  - for this year has been really a a
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  - transition of
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  - trying to navigate the landscape of of, the
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  - ever changing
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  - landscape of medicine. Now we are a federally
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  - qualified health center,
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  - so we're a little bit different than your
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  - typical
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  - for profit agency.
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  - So we are not for profit.
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  - We our mission is to serve
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  - the underserved and the uninsured.
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  - That doesn't mean that's exclusively who we see.
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  - We see,
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  - people with
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  - insurance,
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  - from the very wealthy
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  - to the migrant seasonal farm worker. So we
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  - we see the the entire gamut.
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  - So that has been very successful for us,
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  - in that space. And then especially now with
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  - affordability being an issue with affordable health care,
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  - more and more people are going to the
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  - community health centers.
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  - And if people,
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  - if you didn't really realize, one in ten
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  - Americans
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  - actually go to a community health center. They
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  - may not know it's a community health center,
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  - but it is.
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  - So that's about 30,000,000
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  - people actually go to a federally qualified community
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  - health center.
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  - That's really impressive. And, you know, it's such
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  - an important resource for the community to have,
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  - especially
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  - thinking through, you know, keeping, community engaged and
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  - healthy and and trying to navigate through,
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  - financially,
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  - what it takes in order to provide access
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  - to care to,
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  - populations who may not have insurance or otherwise
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  - have access. So, you know, when you're looking
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  - at all of those things and and thinking
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  - about,
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  - where your federally qualified health, center fits into
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  - the broader, health care ecosystem,
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  - how do you make sure that you're connecting
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  - with those who would benefit most from your
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  - services and,
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  - really creating those access points that, are are
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  - most,
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  - critical for them?
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  - Well, we are spread out between
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  - Manatee, Sarasota, and DeSoto Counties, three counties in
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  - in Florida here. And
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  - I would say last year, we saw
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  - a 100,000
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  - a 109,000
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  - unduplicated
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  - patients,
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  - and that translated to about a half million
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  - visits.
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  - So our our reach is pretty far.
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  - What happens a lot of times are pay
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  - people that actually go to the emergency room
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  - because that's typically where they would first go
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  - if they have a problem.
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  - However, they may get a prescription, they'll get
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  - the bill, and then they may not follow-up.
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  - So we have a relationship with hospitals
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  - that when those individuals show up, that they
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  - get directed to us
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  - so that they have a primary care medical
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  - home to go to so they're not using
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  - the ER as their primary source of of
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  - medical care.
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  - That makes a ton of sense. And, you
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  - know, it's helpful to understand how that flows.
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  - And really truly impressive to think about all
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  - the different visits in inpatients that you work
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  - with on an annual basis. Now what are
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  - some of the big headwinds that you're keeping
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  - your eye on and preparing for in the
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  - year ahead?
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  - Well, we've got federally qualified health centers are
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  - having some big headwinds hitting us right now,
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  - and so I'm looking at that,
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  - and and trying to prepare as we move
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  - forward.
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  - One is, you know, we've had,
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  - over the year, a a decrease in our
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  - base funding. And if it's not a decrease
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  - in our funding, it's not an increase as
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  - well.
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  - But our costs keep going up, so the
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  - costs outpace
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  - the actual dollars that we receive in funding
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  - to help
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  - the uninsured and the, underinsured.
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  - That's why we have to really see a
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  - lot of commercial patients to kinda help offset
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  - that cost
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  - from the,
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  - people that cannot cannot pay.
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  - The other one is the
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  - individuals that are falling off the accountable care
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  - act from, you know, Obamacare.
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  - As they fall off and can't either can't
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  - pay their premiums or they fall off for
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  - whatever reason,
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  - they fall into the uninsured bucket.
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  - And where are they gonna go? They're either
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  - gonna go to the emergency room or they're
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  - gonna come see us.
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  - And that increases,
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  - the stress and strain on our system,
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  - because we can't take care of everyone
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  - with no ability to pay unless we're have
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  - some subsidy or we find somewhere else, line
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  - of business that's profitable for us.
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  - And lastly,
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  - the the one line of business that is
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  - profitable for health care centers across the country
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  - is the three forty b,
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  - pharmacy program. That is a program
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  - whereby we can get discounted drugs,
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  - at an affordable price for the patients that
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  - we see. That program is under attack right
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  - now.
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  - And
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  - if those margins go away, a lot of
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  - community health centers are gonna be struggling.
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  - That makes a a big difference. I I
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  - know that three forty b program, comes up
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  - time and again, and I'm talking with leaders
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  - and executives.
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  - In addition to some of the other things
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  - you mentioned, looking at the ACA, some of
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  - the Medicaid,
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  - changes as well. And so when you look
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  - out into the landscape and, like you said,
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  - it potentially really impacts,
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  - a lot of what the resources you have,
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  - what you're able to do. Are you looking
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  - for,
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  - other spaces to to kind of mitigate some
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  - of the risks there, or how do you
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  - think about moving forward,
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  - knowing that there's a real potential,
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  - that these headwinds are are are coming quickly,
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  - basically?
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  - One of the areas that I'm really keen
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  - on, pursuing and we have pursued and are
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  - in the midst of,
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  - is clinical trials. Clinical trials are a major
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  - source of
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  - a win win for everyone.
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  - If it's a clinical we have currently a
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  - couple of clinical trials going, one out of
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  - two out of Switzerland, one out of The
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  - United States.
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  - The sponsors get the patient base that they
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  - need to conduct their study.
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  - We get paid for the uninsured or the
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  - or the underinsured or whoever,
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  - qualifies for the study, and the patient gets
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  - the state of the art care without
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  - having to necessarily pay for anything.
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  - So it's a win for everyone. I think
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  - clinical trials,
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  - is an area for FQHCs to really look
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  - at,
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  - because we have the sickest of the sick.
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  - Right? We have those individuals
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  - that have put off their health care for
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  - whatever reason. It could be those social determinants.
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  - They don't have a ride to get to
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  - to see the doctor. They don't have the
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  - money. They're deciding whether or not they're going
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  - to buy food and groceries or they're gonna
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  - buy that medication.
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  - So those individuals may have,
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  - a lot
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  - of end stage,
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  - medical
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  - conditions
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  - that you wouldn't necessarily see in a regular
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  - private office.
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  - So,
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  - doing clinical trials in that setting
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  - is is advantageous for everyone.
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  - It makes a lot of sense. You know?
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  - And it really seems to be a a
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  - smart way not only to,
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  - continue to grow and develop the type of
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  - care that you're able to provide for the
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  - community, but,
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  - then to think through how you can keep
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  - the services and the financial as side of
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  - things, humming despite some of these headwinds that
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  - we've been talking about. So that's really interesting
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  - and and cool to have that opportunity.
• 9:53
  - Are there any other spaces you see that
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  - are really primed for growth in the next
• 9:56
  - two to three years?
• 9:57
  - Well, right now, with the,
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  - with inflation and people with even the working,
• 10:03
  - poor, maybe the Alice,
• 10:05
  - population,
• 10:07
  - they are working. They just can't afford their
• 10:09
  - health care. So I with affordable housing, we're
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  - looking to
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  - partner with developers
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  - to say, look, if in fact, you have
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  - a a complex
• 10:18
  - that's,
• 10:19
  - available,
• 10:21
  - for us to come in to do screenings,
• 10:24
  - to let the population know there that there
• 10:27
  - is a place that they can come for
• 10:29
  - affordable health care.
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  - If they are if they qualify for our
• 10:33
  - clinic, obviously, they would get the benefit of
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  - the doubt of the, $3.40 b pricing as
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  - long as we have it.
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  - And,
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  - they would get comprehensive care because within
• 10:44
  - a federally qualified health center, we provide it's
• 10:47
  - not just coming to the doctor, getting your
• 10:49
  - medications, and going home. We have, patient navigators.
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  - We have dietitians.
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  - We have all the surrounding care coordination
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  - services
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  - that really take care of the entire patient,
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  - which is,
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  - why I think we're perfectly positioned for value
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  - based care as that starts to now take
• 11:08
  - off. Community health centers have really been doing
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  - value based care forever.
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  - This hasn't,
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  - we just haven't gotten paid for it at
• 11:16
  - the but now there's an opportunity
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  - to do that. So I think that's a
• 11:20
  - that's an area where I think, we can
• 11:22
  - actually do well in.
• 11:24
  - I love it. And that makes a lot
• 11:25
  - of sense. You know, it's really cool. And
• 11:27
  - to your point, value based care is another
• 11:30
  - issue that's been top of mind for so
• 11:32
  - many people within the health care space. And
• 11:34
  - so what does that look like for you?
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  - How do you really,
• 11:37
  - fit into that broader ecosystem
• 11:40
  - and continuum when you look at where value
• 11:42
  - is and and how you can be part
• 11:44
  - of, the wellness journey for the community?
• 11:47
  - Well, a lot of that has to do
• 11:48
  - with the infrastructure. And,
• 11:50
  - a lot of we are a little bit
• 11:52
  - expansive when it comes to our services. We
• 11:55
  - have,
• 11:56
  - both the primary care that everyone needs, but
• 11:58
  - we also have specialty care. And we have
• 12:01
  - hospitals,
• 12:02
  - that go to the hospital and take care
• 12:04
  - of our patients while they're in the hospital.
• 12:06
  - And what that allows us to do is
• 12:08
  - to really kind of control the cost of
• 12:12
  - that particular patient.
• 12:14
  - So if they come to see us on
• 12:15
  - an outpatient basis, obviously, we can keep that
• 12:18
  - cost down with a primary care visit. If,
• 12:21
  - in fact, they need a specialist,
• 12:23
  - we can get them to one of our
• 12:24
  - specialists, and we are able to care coordinate
• 12:27
  - across,
• 12:29
  - our EMR so everyone can see what everyone
• 12:32
  - else is doing
• 12:33
  - and can coordinate that care. If they happen
• 12:35
  - to go to the hospital,
• 12:36
  - we have our hospitalist that can actually get
• 12:39
  - them through the hospital stay and get them
• 12:42
  - to the level of care that they need,
• 12:44
  - whether it be,
• 12:46
  - nursing home,
• 12:48
  - or getting back to their primary care in
• 12:50
  - an in an expedited fashion so they don't
• 12:53
  - lose them from the hospital discharge
• 12:57
  - and they rebound back to the emergency room
• 12:59
  - because they either ran out of the medication
• 13:01
  - or they or they couldn't get an appointment.
• 13:04
  - Absolutely. That makes sense. You know, and it
• 13:06
  - is really helpful to understand. Now before we
• 13:09
  - wrap up here, I'm curious. Who do you
• 13:11
  - admire as a leader from really any industry
• 13:13
  - and why?
• 13:15
  - Oh, boy. That's, it's gonna be kinda strange.
• 13:18
  - Neil DeGrace Tyson is a a person I
• 13:20
  - really, really look to and admire, and that's
• 13:24
  - really because he questions what we believe as
• 13:26
  - fact
• 13:28
  - and also,
• 13:29
  - questions of conventional thinking,
• 13:32
  - and ask the pertinent questions.
• 13:34
  - You know, that's something that I think we
• 13:36
  - all need to do is
• 13:38
  - ask the questions. Why? Why why are we
• 13:40
  - doing it this way? What has been the
• 13:42
  - norm, and is that really truly how we
• 13:44
  - should go forward? Things like that.
• 13:47
  - Oh, that makes a ton of sense. You
• 13:48
  - know, such an inspirational figure and and somebody
• 13:51
  - who,
• 13:53
  - has brought the idea of curiosity, questioning, and
• 13:55
  - science, you know, to a whole group of
• 13:57
  - Yeah. Of people who didn't have access to
• 13:59
  - it otherwise, myself included. He's just a fascinating
• 14:01
  - person to listen to and talk and, really,
• 14:03
  - really interesting.
• 14:04
  - Absolutely.
• 14:06
  - Doctor Price, thank you so much for joining
• 14:07
  - us on the podcast today. This has been
• 14:09
  - a really fun conversation.
• 14:11
  - I'm glad to have learned more about what
• 14:13
  - you're doing at MCR Health and look forward
• 14:15
  - to connecting with you again soon. I know
• 14:17
  - he'll be speaking on a panel at our
• 14:18
  - CEO and CFO roundtable, and will be great
• 14:21
  - to catch up there and dig deeper into
• 14:22
  - some of these themes that we're talking about.
• 14:25
  - Well, thank you for having me. It's been
• 14:26
  - a pleasure.