Our History
In the summer of 2000 a group of providers, employers, associations, unions, medical professionals and state agencies in Iowa began exploring how obstacles to chronic disease management programs could be overcome. Their motivation, both then and now, reflects an overriding concern for improving the health of people in Iowa by giving greater attention to individuals with chronic disease.
Members of the consortium noted early on that Iowa’s rural demographics were an obstacle to certain individuals in accessing health care despite their obvious need. The prevalence of chronic diseases in Iowa along with the state’s aging demographics heightened the need for chronic disease management.
Given the rural character of Iowa, the prevalence of chronic disease and the increasing costs of health care, the need for chronic disease management was apparent. Several concerns emerged: Considering the size of the state, its community-minded character, the relatively close relationships among payers, providers and health plans, and the comparative manageability of the system, why should Iowa wait for a model to be developed elsewhere and transported into the state? Indeed, would it be possible for an Iowa leadership group with experience in health care to design chronic disease management strategies that could serve as examples for other states and regions? Would it be possible to do something special for all of our citizens, especially those affected by chronic diseases?
With Iowa’s special opportunity to take a leadership role in chronic disease management, the Iowa Chronic Care Consortium was formed with a formal organizational meeting in June 2002. Initial funding came from private foundations, Des Moines University, the Iowa Department of Economic Development, and the Iowa Farm Bureau along with technical assistance from Iowa Health System and Mercy Health Network. An appropriation of $150,000 in state matching funds for the consortium was signed by the governor in 2002. Other partners who joined the effort include the Iowa United Auto Workers, the Iowa Area Development Group, the Iowa Diabetes Association, the Iowa Department of Elder Affairs, the Iowa Department of Human Services, the Iowa Department of Public Health, and other professional groups and physician leaders.
Initial efforts involved research, planning, and design of chronic disease management strategies throughout the state. Drawing upon research on telephony-based chronic disease management programs, the consortium envisioned that the telephone, and possibly videophones, could be incorporated as program extenders and thereby increase access to health care for people in Iowa with chronic diseases. A key motivation has been to develop strategies that would take programs directly to individuals, such as to their homes and places of business. The work has also focused on creating strategies that would include rural participants, whose access to health care may be limited by reduced ambulation of lack of transportation.
The ICCC is an independent, not-for-profit entity. Development of the consortium is ongoing.