Ellwood, Paul M.

Paul M. Ellwood is an innovative figure in healthcare. He coined the term health maintenance organization (HMO), and he introduced the concept to the Nixon administration as an entity that would compete on the bases of price and quality by combining insurance and healthcare within a single organization. In 1972, Ellwood tested the HMO concept as a pilot program with 5,000 patients at the Park Nicollet Clinic in Minneapolis, employees from General Mills and other local corporations who were enrolled in this employer-sponsored prepaid health plan. He advised the Nixon White House on the Health Maintenance Act of 1973, which was passed into law. The HMO Act requires that all companies in the nation with 25 or more employees must offer a federally qualified HMO option along with traditional indemnity insurance. The act played a significant role in shifting the direction of the nation's healthcare system toward managed care.

Ellwood, along with Alain C. Enthoven and the Jackson Hole Group, later went on to propose the idea of managed competition, which is a purchasing strategy for consumers and employers.

The latest idea that Ellwood has initiated is the Pathways to Healthy Outcomes (PATHOS), which calls for increased participation from the federal government in setting standards. The goal of PATHOS is to overhaul the healthcare system, enhance the power of patients, redefine the role of government as an agent of change and regulator, and ensure health insurance for everyone. PATHOS would accomplish these objectives through the use of the Internet to connect patients and physicians, rely on evidence-based guidelines for prevention and treatment, adopt the use of EMRs, and provide patients with better information on medical treatments and comparative information on physician performance.

Ellwood received his bachelor's degree and a medical degree from Stanford University. He then went on to complete his medical training in pediatrics and neurology at the University of Minnesota and physical medicine and rehabilitation training at the University of Washington. He worked as a consultant at the Brookings Institution for 4 years. Following this, he held various positions at Harvard University, the University of Paris, Stanford University, and the University of Rennes in France. Later, Ellwood served as the executive director of the American Rehabilitation Foundation and the Sister Kenny Institute of Minneapolis. He founded and was the chief executive officer of InterStudy, a Minnesota-based organization dedicated to introducing market forces in healthcare. He also founded the Jackson Hole Group in Teton Village, Wyoming, a healthcare reform policy think tank composed of medical, public policy, and business leaders committed to improving the nation's healthcare system.

Ellwood has received numerous awards and honors. The Foundation for Accountability (FACCT) established an annual award in his honor. Ellwood has also served on many local and national boards, including the national Institute of Medicine (IOM), the American Association of Rhodes Scholars, and the RAND Corporation.