Executive Summary of January 2018 Board Meeting

Partnership at Starling is a privilege that comes with the responsibility of citizenship. It is important for all partners to be aware of some board discussion topics. For the January meeting, these topics included an annual review of Starling’s strategic plan, discussions on recruiting new physicians, and Starling integration.

Strategic Plan

The board reviewed progress on Starling’s strategic plan, which was developed one year ago. The four main areas were becoming Starling, positioning for value-based care, relationships with other providers, and our size and distribution. The chart below summarizes Starling’s activity in reaching its strategic goals and challenges ahead.

Recruitment

Over the past year, Starling has grown by a net of 16 physicians and mid-levels (235 to 251), for a growth rate of ~7%. It has been exceeding difficult, however, to recruit primary care physicians. We are competing against hospital systems (HHC, UConn) and employed groups (ProHealth). These larger integrated entities are desperate for primary care. They are sometimes willing to pay the primary care physician far more than that physician can produce, and absorb the losses accordingly, since they have more integrated organizations, with financial backing. Starling currently cannot compete on those terms, but can provide a more physician-centric environment. The board asked the management team to explore different ways for us to compete, including the possibility of an employed model.

Starling Integration

After two years Starling is continuing toward full merger of the two branches. One major point remaining is physician allocation of overhead resources. In the past year, the Grove Hill branch has undertaken an in depth analysis and revision of its overhead allocation policy. The formation of this policy was done with input from CMG leadership. The plan is for a version of this developed policy to be implemented across all of Starling. Prior to this transition takes place, our finance team will provide detail on an individual level of potential effects.