To improve health outcomes, address health equity
Helping employees have equal opportunities and adequate supports to make choices that lead to improved health outcomes and lower overall costs.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to expose health disparities and barriers to care within the United States, health equity has been pushed to the forefront of the health care conversation. The past year has left many people asking: where do we begin in addressing these systemic health issues? We know health equity, or the opportunity for all people to be as healthy as possible, is influenced by various factors that inhibit people from accessing the same level of medical care, leaving an opportunity for employers to step up.
Related: Moving toward quality, affordable care: First-hand perspectives
So, what can employers do to help provide access to the resources and care employees and dependents need to stay healthy and ensure health equity for their entire workforce? By implementing a health care program that addresses this challenge head-on, you can assist your employees and dependents in having equal opportunities and adequate supports to make choices that lead to improved health outcomes and lower overall costs for your business. Here’s why we need to improve health equity and how to get started.
No one left behind: Improving health equity for better overall population health
Historically, traditional population health approaches have focused on the top 5% of high-need people receiving care, making up the majority of total health care spend in the U.S. However, many health care providers have failed to realize most of those high-cost claimants won’t be the same the following year as needs are addressed and managed, neglecting preventative care for others who may become at-risk. The simple truth is that it is more cost-effective for organizations, members, and providers to help people stay well rather than simply focusing on helping people get well, and ultimately avoid health issues that may arise further down the line.
With that said, why is prioritizing health equity so important for employers? Improving access and opportunities to receive health care, specifically the availability of resources that address various social determinants of health, can improve the overall health and wellbeing of an entire population. Moreover, social determinants of health have a direct impact on a person’s wellbeing and can predict the greatest proportion of health inequity, making them a high priority for health care programs to address. That’s why an equitable approach to health care benefits from businesses is critical: it prioritizes wellness, prevention, and culturally competent care, while intentionally expanding access and removing barriers to preventive services and wellness programs for employees and dependents.
In improving health equity at your organization, you can not only improve health outcomes of your workforce population, but also reduce fragmentation within health care delivery, allowing for widened access to various health services that may be difficult to receive otherwise. This is achieved by providing employees and dependents with convenient access to specialized care for complex or rare conditions that they may not seek or pursue long enough to experience optimal benefits. By offering guidance throughout their care journeys, employees and dependents can continually access various resources in one centralized place, receiving a whole-person approach across their care lifespan that they may not have received elsewhere.
Strategy and persistence: Engaging those who need care the most
The importance of health equity is apparent, however, many employers may be wondering how to make these changes. Ensuring health equity within your organization begins with a hands-on, member-focused approach. Your health care program should be tailored to your unique population and their specific health needs, paying close attention to social determinants of health, to ensure all workers have equal opportunities to make choices and receive high-quality care that leads to improved wellbeing.
In order to prioritize health equity, programs must provide access to high-quality, culturally competent providers (as they often influence outcomes and equity) and focus on addressing specific social determinants of health within your workforce. Although these often aren’t in the scope of how people traditionally think about health care, without access to healthy foods, a safe home, and the proper medication, your employees’ and dependents’ health can never improve. Unresolved social determinants of health can be just as fatal as serious medical conditions, and can also have severe negative impacts on anxiety, blood pressure, and cholesterol, which are high-spend conditions for employers.
Our approach to health equity ensures members are connected with high-quality solutions across the health care ecosystem, along with resources via our online platform for needs in their community such as childcare, transportation, housing, and hunger. In the past 90 days, we’ve seen over 3,500 searches within the Find Help platform, which allows members to enter their zip code and find available resources in their community. This is only one proof point of how widening access to care and addressing barriers will help employers assist their teams in overcoming challenges and help them lead healthy, productive lives.
Another consideration for employers to improve health equity is offering an employee assistance program (EAP). These work-based intervention programs are designed to identify and assist people, and often their partners and dependents, in resolving personal problems that could adversely affect their health long-term. EAP offerings vary but can include substance use counseling, grief assistance, and financial counseling, which are often not regarded as traditional health issues. Organizations will see the greatest return-on-investment when their EAP is integrated seamlessly with their health care program, and most importantly, prioritizes a hands-on, member-focused approach.
As an example, providers who are given ample time during appointments to get to know members are able to discuss any struggles they may be experiencing – allowing providers to identify concerns ranging from alcohol use to difficulty paying bills. The provider would then document those concerns and easily refer the member to their employer’s EAP program, connecting employees and dependents with resources they may not have utilized prior. By engaging those who need care the most — and who are often likely to face the most barriers in seeking care — and seamlessly guiding them through their care journey, employers have the ability to preemptively connect employees and dependents with the necessary care before their conditions worsen, while also cutting major health care expenses.
Looking toward an equitable future
As we look forward to ensuring a more equitable approach to health care, implementing a health program that provides access to the care and resources employees and dependents need to stay healthy, removes barriers to care, and prioritizes a values-based approach is the first step in ensuring health equity within your organization. By empowering your workforce with equitable opportunities and resources to guide their health journey, you, as an employer, can disrupt and innovate the health care system and create an engaged and healthy team.
Jami Doucette, MD, MBA, CSCS, is president of Premise Health.
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