Back To Articles

Governor Wolf Announces New Initiative to Increase Affordability

November 19, 2020

On Friday, October 2nd, Governor Wolf announced his new initiative, Whole Person Health Reform in an effort to make health coverage more affordable and accessible for all Pennsylvanians. 

What is the Whole Person Health Reform Initiative? 

The Whole Person Health Reform Initiative was created by Governor Wolf to address the reasons why healthcare is so expensive, and work on lowering costs to make coverage more affordable for all Pennsylvanians. 

What does this initiative do? 

The initiative has three different parts to it: 

  1. Interagency Health Reform Council (IHRC): The IHRC will come up with recommendations and guidelines for how to make the healthcare system more efficient. 
  2. Regional Accountable Health Councils (RAHCs): The RAHCs will be formed as part of Pennsylvania’s Medicaid managed care organizations and will work to make healthcare more equitable. 
  3. Health Value Commission: The Health Value Commission will first have to be created by legislation. The group will work to hold health plans and providers accountable for increasing costs. This will help keep healthcare more affordable. 

How does it help Pennsylvanians? 

Whole Person Health will help Pennsylvanians by creating an honest and transparent healthcare system, lowering costs, and improving equity across all identity groups. This is a major step in addressing the issue of unaffordable healthcare and PHAN looks forward to working closely with Governor Wolf’s office to help implement the initiative.