Camden Coalition’s Brenner talks about leaving for UnitedHealthcare, what the future holds

The Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers announced Tuesday that it is losing its longtime leader, Dr. Jeffrey Brenner, to the largest health insurer in the country — UnitedHealthcare.The Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers announced Tuesday that it is losing its longtime leader, Dr. Jeffrey Brenner, to the largest health insurer in the country — UnitedHealthcare.

Brenner’s work at the coalition over the past 14 years has been recognized nationally and spurred changes in the way health care providers are looking at delivering care.

And while the move is a heavy loss for the coalition, the good news, Brenner said, is that he will still be based in Camden for his new position. The partnership allows the coalition to receive funding to test the models that UHC is interested in implementing that will affect payment models in the future.

Brenner took some time Tuesday to speak with NJBIZ about the big move.

NJBIZ: You are leaving your baby. How does that feel?

Jeffrey Brenner: I am. I think it’s healthy. It’s time for — I’ve been in Camden for about 17 years and running the coalition for about 14, so it’s good for it to stretch and get new leadership. I think it’s healthy for the world to see that our work isn’t just about me, and that I have an amazing team of people who can carry the work forward.

NJBIZ: Were you trying to have UnitedHealthcare absorb the coalition rather than move to work for its similar platform myConnections?

JB: UHC is a very large, for-profit company, so they can’t really own and operate a nonprofit, so that was never on the table. We have worked with them for six or seven years; they are really good partners. I think there is some recognition in this day and age that you can’t keep delivering health care like you used to, and Medicaid is going to need to reinvent itself. The (Gov. Chris) Christie administration gets credit for that, because without Medicaid expansion, we wouldn’t have been able to partner with them and work with them.

NJBIZ: Have you been criticized for crossing over to the for-profit side?

JB: No. I think I’ve earned my stripes. Seventeen years in Camden. It was never in my life formula to work for a for-profit, but I think our country is in a very interesting moment right now. We are facing deep problems of cost overruns and the baby boomers are retiring. There will be unsustainable cost trends in Medicare and Medicaid and pension costs for state and federal governments. We are going to have to figure out how to reduce costs. We already spend twice as much as any other country, so — bridges are falling down in America, we are not rebuilding our schools or our infrastructure, we are laying teachers off, we are spending a lot of money on our health care and not getting our money’s worth. It’s imperative going forward to rethink how these models work.

NJBIZ: And you get to stay in Camden to do all this?

JB: This unit is going to be headquartered in Camden. I’m really excited about a business unit meant to integrate medical care, mental health and addiction services for Medicaid patients all over the country being housed in Camden, New Jersey. It’s really exciting. That’s a creative solution that is good for the patient, good for United and good for the Coalition. It’s also great that it’s an economic development for Camden. We are seeing, finally, a really robust recovery happen — new businesses, housing and entertainment. It turns Camden into a regional, national hub for health care innovation.