Intermountain Healthcare’s vice president of policy, Greg Poulsen, will be one of 17 advisers to Congress on issues affecting Medicare.

Poulsen was appointed to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission and will start work immediately.

“I’m excited to be a part of this commission,” Poulsen said. “Nobody from Utah has served on the commission for many, many years — and not only Utah, but from many mountain west states, so this is a wonderful opportunity.”

Poulsen helped establish SelectHealth, an insurance company which has more than one million members in Utah, Idaho and Nevada. He was also instrumental in developing an accounting system to allow health systems to pinpoint all costs associated with care.

One of his goals during that time was to find ways to help prevent people from getting devastating diseases, which can cost up to millions of dollars in treatment. He said he plans to carry that goal over to his new position on the commission.

“Ideally, we would like all of us entering our senior years to care very much for our own health,” he said. “My goal is to help them find the best care possible and to prevent some of these illnesses from happening.”

MedPAC is an independent congressional agency consisting of 17 members nationwide that include professionals from various fields including healthcare, business, finance and economics. The members advise Congress on all aspects of payment for Medicare services. These payments, Poulsen said, are anticipated to exceed $1 trillion for the first time next year.

“There are very detailed components with Medicare,” he said. “From how much a doctor or hospital should be paid for a knee replacement versus a gallbladder removal, to home health, hospice and long-term care payment.”

Poulsen said he wants to look into the underlying things Medicare wants to achieve in terms of their payment mechanism, and would like to see them find ways to pay more holistically.

“If we can reward teams of medical professionals for keeping people healthy rather than fixing them after a disaster, we will keep a lot of people happy,” he said. “I want to do what’s right for people because the more helpful we can be, the happier and healthier people are going to be.”

The commissioners serve three-year terms that are subject to renewal by the Comptroller General. Members meet publicly to discuss policy issues and formulate recommendations to congress.

“Greg’s commitment to all aspects of understanding and controlling costs have helped focus Intermountain on value and affordability,” said Marc Harrison, president and CEO of Intermountain Healthcare. “The strategies he helped create and implement have assisted us in becoming a recognized leader in efficient care.”

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