Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health — now a 32-hospital system after the 2024 acquisition of Lehigh Valley Health Network — is prioritizing integration and financial sustainability post-transaction.
Joseph Cacchione, MD, who has been CEO for the last two and a half years, said the health system — which also includes a nearly 400,000-member health plan and a university with more than 200 undergraduate and graduate degree programs — is focused on value-based care and calculated growth as key strategies amid today’s industry headwinds.
“You’re going to see us continue to be selective in terms of how we grow,” Dr. Cacchione told Becker’s at the 15th Annual Meeting in Chicago. “The old days of filling your beds was always a good thing. Today, most health systems have full beds, and not too many of them are making a lot of money. And so smart growth is: How do we optimize?
“We need to continue to address health disparities within the communities that we serve. That’s really important, how we show up every day, and how we will continue to live out the mission and not leave markets that are in dire need of healthcare. That’s the balancing act of financial sustainability, but serving the communities that we [are] in.”
Jefferson, a $15.5 billion system, has several hundred million dollars at full risk annually through premium-based reimbursements and full-risk contracts, Dr. Cacchione said. He noted that through its health plan, Jefferson is profitable in Medicare Advantage and Medicaid — making these contracts and value-based care central to the system’s long-term strategy.
“The models of value-based care and premium-based reimbursement help to align our model,” Dr. Cacchione said. “We have to do well in fee-for-service — that’s not going away anytime soon. But at the same time, we also believe that filling hospital beds — which always used to be profitable — is not necessarily always what’s best for the patient. That’s something that, over time, we look to be more engaged in in a premium-based world, where the incentives align better.”
