WellPoint, the WellPoint Foundation and X PRIZE Foundation, a philanthropic organization focused on innovation through competition, are collaborating on a $10 million competition to generate new ways to address the nation's healthcare system challenges.
"WellPoint and its foundation recognize the challenges facing our healthcare system are substantial, which is why it's critical for health benefits companies, healthcare providers, government leaders and consumers to work together to identify real-world solutions that will create the most benefit for all Americans," said Angela F. Braly, president and CEO of WellPoint and a member of the WellPoint Foundation board of directors.
WellPoint and the X PRIZE Foundation will solicit participation from employers, healthcare providers, consumers, government partners and any other interested parties to develop competition guidelines that reflect the healthcare industry's most pressing challenges.
WellPoint has agreed to test the selected entries in its state markets in order to determine their ability to result in viable, creative and achievable healthcare system changes. Transparency will be emphasized throughout the process, from development of the prize to the conclusion of the competition. All results will be shared publicly, with the knowledge gained considered non-proprietary.
"We should look for every opportunity to drive down inefficiencies, to try new things and to pilot different initiatives and not be afraid to restructure them or retool them as we go along," said Virginia Proestakes, health benefits program leader for GE. "I think the time is right for innovation and bright, new, imaginative ideas."
"I see it as a way for maximizing the involvement of the American people in two of the thorniest problems in healthcare - payments and delivery," said former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley. "The result of this could positively impact the direction of healthcare reform in the next decades."
An X PRIZE competition awards a minimum of $10 million to the first team to achieve a specific goal set by the X PRIZE Foundation. Rather than awarding money to honor past achievements or directly funding research, officials say, an X PRIZE incites innovation by tapping into the competitive and entrepreneurial spirit of individuals and teams to revolutionize industries for the benefit of humanity.