1. Strategic Formation After several years in corporate accounting and finance, in 1987,
John Ford, our founder, was asked to lead the health care programs for a Fortune 500 energy
company located in 37 states. There, he redesigned benefits programs and began building select
physician and hospital networks in Oklahoma and rural Alaska, Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky.
Working across the country, he began to more fully appreciate the challenges of organizing com-
munity health care co-ops purposed to reduce fragmentation and build coordination across the
continuum of care.
Infrastructure In the early 1990s, wanting to make a difference in healthcare, John moved
into the fledgling HMO insurance industry, both as an operations executive for PacifiCare of
Oklahoma (now part of United) and as chief executive for a provider-sponsored HMO startup in
mid-state Illinois. During this time, he forged key hospital/physician/insurance relationships and
developed a keen appreciation for engaged physicians as drivers of meaningful cost containment
and improved healthcare outcomes.
Provider Integration In the late 1990s, John ventured even closer by starting a
staff-model medical group for a large Texas non-profit hospital. Here, he worked specifically with
primary care physicians and select specialists and hospital affiliates to integrate clinical services
and standards across the continuum. Learning from the numerous ill-formed reform attempts in our
industry, John realized primary care was best positioned to lead reform. He realized that, if orga-
nized and resourced, primary care was the only true choice to expedite the change mandate.
Building for SuccessIn 2000, John created Triad Physician Resources, Inc., a manage-
ment organization that supports the financial and structural needs of medical groups. Recognizing
the need for primary care to have an independent affiliation option, in 2003, he started PhyNet Inc.,
a staff model primary care group in East and South Central Texas. It has grown to include 10 PCP
facilities in 9 Texas counties. Using PhyNet as a platform, John has since diversified his ”pre-acute”
strategy by acquiring or partnering with other care management disciplines incorporating home
health, chronic care and rehabilitative services. With the 2012 ACA endorsement of PCP-driven
reform, in 2013, he formed Prime Care Managers LLC, an independent regional primary care net-
work in Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana, to position and equip primary care to lead the creative effort
building sustainable value-based advanced payment models. As a business entrepreneur, John has
been a speaker to community leaders, boards and various provider stakeholders regarding health
care strategy, finance and operations. He has volunteered his time to serve on the Board of Texas
Non-Profit Healthcare Organizations and was a principal in the establishment of Federally
Qualified Health Centers in Texas.
John D.Ford
CEO Prime Care Managers
B I O G R A P H Y