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Perspectives on a selected key
topic
July 2022 |
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what degree might health plan funding of Social Determinants of
Health (SDoH) initiatives be impacted by inflationary or
recessionary economic pressures in the next twelve months?"
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Brett Hickman
Chief Commercial Officer
Modivcare
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Because Medicare Advantage (MA) plan enrollment has been
increasing steadily since the early 2000s, it’s critical for
plans to ensure benefits keep pace, even in unfavorable
economic times. Prospective new members expect the
now-ubiquitous consumer-focused experience to continue at
the health plan that receives their Medicare dollars. MA
plans that take advantage of this trend can help drive the
bottom line and improve member health.
While a
recession would certainly have an impact, health plans that
recognize one may be coming can take steps to continue
providing existing supplemental benefits—and potentially
adding new ones—may find themselves in a better position to
weather an economic downturn by driving member loyalty and
engagement.
Medicare Advantage health plans
understand what their members are looking for in benefits
and will continue to provide supplemental services like
transportation, personal care and meals. These benefits not
only help with retention, but drive savvy new members to the
plan. Addressing numerous social determinants of health has
the added value of helping to improve member health and
well-being.
In addition, state agencies are
encouraging health plans with Medicaid members to explore
how they can help mitigate SDoH. This includes improving
links and referrals to community organizations and building
out programs to identify health equity issues and
supplemental services.
When health plans integrate
remote patient monitoring, for example, it will help members
live independently at home as they age while providing
around-the-clock safety and reassurance for them and their
families.
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Paula Cottrell
Sr. Director, Strategy
Pivot Point
Consulting
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The move toward value-based care continues for both
populations. Applying processes and programs that address
SDoH can help health plans realize their VBC goals.
During recessionary times, a significant challenge for both
the health plans and care delivery organizations will be
lack of capital and operating funds to invest in the
operational changes required to support SDoH initiatives.
With the predicted economic challenges ahead, the reality is
that the volume of patients on commercial health plans will
decrease, and the volume of patients on Medicaid or
uninsured will increase, along with the SDoH impacts to
their health and the overall cost of healthcare. In an
unstable economy, it will be even more challenging to
successfully implement these crucial programs for
underserved, at-risk populations. With constrained budgets
and resources, it may not be possible to set up, deploy and
support SDoH initiatives without additional state and
federal funding.
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