According to Goodroot CFO Jim Harper, the best way to transform the current U.S. healthcare system is to replace its connective tissue.
“It’s going to be a long slog, and it’s got to be done one system at a time,” explains Harper, who uses the word “system” when referring to the individual points of connection that knit together healthcare’s patchwork of payers and providers.
For Harper, connection points are where waste gathers within the larger system—and where companies often add unnecessary complexity in order to extract more dollars.
Read More“Because there is so much money flying through the systems, there are a lot of organizations that have become involved—and they are greedy,” comments Harper, who shares his opinion of the healthcare system as a preface to explaining the mission behind Goodroot.
Not exactly a business incubator and not a private equity firm, Harper recounts, Goodroot prefers to be dubbed a “community” of businesses dedicated to improving the current state of healthcare delivery.
As he once more tells us, Goodroot’s mission can be achieved only “one system at a time.” –Jack Sweeney jb
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CFOTL: Please tell us about Goodroot …
Harper: Goodroot is an organization that’s committed to reinventing healthcare one system at a time. Where this comes from is that our healthcare system is extraordinary here in the U.S. It’s very innovative. Physicians, nurses, and others provide extraordinary service to patients. But the way in which these things are paid for in this country—for example, in terms of getting a drug from a manufacturer to an individual and getting it paid for—is extremely complex.
Read MoreBecause of this complexity—and because there’s so much capital flowing through the system—there are a lot of people and organizations involved, and they can be greedy. To put it bluntly: Some people and firms—like a health plan administrator or a PBM—are sort of ingrained in an organization and may have been around for a long time. And they’re happy. Why would they change if they’re making a lot of margin and it’s flowing to the bottom line? The stockholder is happy, too. Changing healthcare is going to be a long slog, and it’s got to be done one system at a time.
CFOTL: What are your priorities as a CFO over the next 12 months?
Harper: We have established OKRs, or objectives and key results. The objectives are very clear for our startup businesses right now. We need to really focus fundamentally on these businesses and keeping them growing. I need to ensure that they get the information that they need and that they get the capital that they need, as well as make sure that the entrepreneurs have the support that they need and the affiliates to grow these businesses. Also, we’re hiring another six people to build out a commercial sales function, so another priority for me is making sure that these new salespeople across the U.S. have what they need and are not distracted by anything that might keep them away from a sale.
Value Quote: “We want to remove $30 billion in waste from the healthcare system by 2025. As of today, we have removed $820 million, so we’re making progress—and from a Pareto principle standpoint, I think that we are going to have some big wins ahead of us.” jb
Goodroot | www.goodrootinc.com |Collinsville, CT