Phil Castle, Business Times

Dr. Brian Davidson switched from the provider to the payer side of the health care industry.

But Davidson said the experiences and expertise he developed as a physician who served as president of St. Mary’s Medical Center in Grand Junction serve him well in his latest role as a market medical executive with Cigna Healthcare. Moreover, his focus on caring for people and communities, hasn’t changed.

In helping develop ways for the insurance company to reward high quality health care delivered at a lower cost, everyone wins, he said. “That’s the exciting part.”

Davidson returned to Grand Junction to lead a seminar at the BeaconFest expo on the Medicare health care program. He said it was first time back in the Grand Valley since he stepped down as president of St. Mary’s in 2019. He resigned to return with his family to Denver and his wife,
Dr. Amy Gagnon, could resume her practice in maternal and fetal medicine.

Davidson joined St. Mary’s as chief medical officer in 2014 and became president in 2016.

An anesthesiologist who realized his aspiration to become a hospital administrator, he said he believed his career as a health care provider would continue.

But a unique situation arose with a position at Cigna Health in which he could apply his experience as a physician with a business background to the payer side of the industry. “I was attracted to the opportunity.”

He holds both medical and master’s of business administration degrees and was one of only a few physicians who also served as hospital executives.

Davidson works in a mountain states region that includes Colorado, New Mexico and Utah as well as Oregon and Washington. Cigna Healthcare. The company is expanding in the region, he said, and working with Monument Health based in Grand Junction to provide insurance products to residents of Mesa and Delta counties.

Davidson said he brings to his latest position experience in clinical settings and hospital administration, but also finance and public policy.

He said he’s met with physicians, hospital staff and other health care providers about what they need to care for patients as well as lower the cost of care. “I’ve had those conversations.”

Payers play an important role in reforming health care, he said, by the way in which they reward providers for quality care rather than strictly fees for services.

Preventive measures and better managing chronic conditions not only help patients lead healthier lives, but also reduces the need for more expensive care later, he said.

It’s important as well to address social determinants of health, he said. That includes not only access to safe housing and nutritious food, but also employment, education and transportation.

The United States spends more money than any other per capita on health care —  by one estimate for 2021, nearly $13,000. That’s nearly double the spending levels of other wealthy countries, including Germany, Switzerland and Canada.

Davidson said the U.S. offers some of the most advanced medical technology and treatments in the world and there’s nowhere else he’d want to go for care.

But at the same time, a lot of resources in the United States are allocated for what he termed sick care rather than health care.

The situation isn’t sustainable and must change, he said. Reform efforts are under way. And even small changes that lower spending on health care a percent or two will make a cumulatively big difference.

While he’s switched from the provider to the payer side of the health care industry, Davidson said his mindset hasn’t changed. “I believe in taking care of people.”