Season 1, Episode 6 of the Soaring to New Health Podcast
This episode is The Stars are Aligned. We’re diving deep into the world of healthcare and performance improvement. Medicare Stars and its far-reaching implications – what it is, why it’s important for health plans and members, common challenges and successful strategies. Dan Weaver, Senior VP of Stars and Quality at Zing Health and Andrew Bell, Stars Performance Leader at ProspHire.
Medicare Star Ratings are a way to measure and compare the quality and performance of Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plans. The ratings are based on a scale of one to five stars, with five being the best, and they reflect various aspects of the plans such as customer service, patient outcomes, preventive care and benefits. Medicare beneficiaries can use the ratings as a guide when choosing a plan that suits their needs.
In Medicare Stars Plans, there are three categories based on the quality ratings on the plans: plans that have lost their rating, plans that have maintained their rating and well-positioned plans. For those that have lost their rating, recommended strategies include both foundational elements if identifying and addressing the deficiencies and implementing robust processes for advanced analytical components.
Dan Weaver says preparedness is the key. Gather your resources to collaborate and review and compare interpretations, seek outside expertise to help you align on steps that focus on sustainable improvements in quality and continuously monitoring and improving performance. The challenges to successful Star ratings are going to be different for every plan – from resource constraints to provider network challenges to data accuracy and documentation. Addressing these requires a comprehensive and targeted approach, including strategic planning, investment in resources, collaboration with stakeholders and a commitment to continuous quality improvement.
It’s crucial to understand that, at any given moment, your plan is influenced by activities spanning three distinct Star years. Approximately a year before the service dates, HOS surveys are conducted. These service dates take place within a calendar year. The subsequent year involves operational impacts, encompassing CAHPS survey, TTY foreign language testing and other pertinent assessments.
The Medicare Stars Program is highly regulated by CMS and it is common to see modifications to the program, be it measures added or removed, calculation adjustments or weighting changes. Looking ahead, CMS proposed to reduce the weight of patient experience/complaints and access measures from 4x to 2x for the 2026 Star Ratings.
For the more in-depth discussion on Stars Performance Improvement download the Soaring to New Health podcast, The Stars are Aligned, where you find your podcasts.
The conditions that individuals live, grow and work in can significantly impact their health outcomes and are known as the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). SDOH factors such as economic stability, access to nutritious food and stable housing influence one’s ability to engage in healthcare and wellness and can account for up to 90% of modifiable contributors to health outcomes for a population[1].
How Do Climate Disasters Affect Your Health?
A 2021 Lancet review by editors of health journal worldwide called attention to the fact that climate change has increasingly become a significant public health threat in recent years[2]. In 2023, there have been 24 confirmed weather or climate disaster events, including wildfires, winter storms and tropical storms[3]. The National Centers for Environmental Information reported that each of these events resulted in over $1 billion in damage to public and private infrastructure including homes, schools and transportation. Individuals in these circumstances may spend months relocating or repairing their homes and may have limited access to nutritious food, clean water, education and healthcare. These disaster events affect all SDOH dimensions.
How Does Climate Change Affect Your Health?
In addition to disaster events, chronic climate change trends such as longer and hotter summers, droughts and poorer air quality are closely associated with worsening health outcomes[4]. For instance, pollen season in the U.S. increased by up to 27 days between 1995 and 2011, increasing the risk of asthma attacks in individuals with respiratory illness[5][6]. Warmer climate conditions are also associated with increased exposure to infectious diseases. Locally transmitted cases for malaria have been identified in Florida and Texas for the first time in 20 years, leading to concerns that incidents of mosquito-borne infections can become more prevalent in the U.S. with rising temperatures[7].
A recent report estimated that the financial toll of climate change on health can add up to over $820 billion per year[8]. A large portion of this figure (~95%) is attributable to premature deaths while the rest accounts for the costs of hospitalization, treatments for mental health conditions, drugs and other healthcare services[9]. Climate change disproportionately impacts communities of lower socioeconomic status that have fewer resources available to adapt. These inequities are likely to worsen in the face of global food shortages and water scarcity, posing significant risks to population health outcomes and total cost of care.
Health strategists and organizations must start incorporating a climate change lens when planning and executing interventions to address SDOH needs. Organizations may consider including climate change preparedness into existing SDOH programs. Asthma management interventions could leverage weather forecasts and alerts to coordinate distribution of masks to at-risk pediatric members. Organizations may invest in data and analytics capabilities to predict environmental events and prioritize interventions accordingly. Health plans should build and strengthen their relationships with Community-Based Organizations that play pivotal roles during climate disasters to ensure that their members are receiving the support and care they need.
At ProspHire, we offer insights, analysis and execution strategies to address the Social Determinants of Health. Let’s have a conversation to understand the challenges your organization may face in addressing the disparate needs of underserved members across your footprint. In partnership with our clients, we develop innovative and proactive solutions to tackle the health impacts of social determinants. Connect with us today to learn more.
[1] National Academy of Medicine. (2017). Social Determinants of Health 101 for Health Care: Five Plus Five. https://nam.edu/social-determinants-of-health-101-for-health-care-five-plus-five/
[2] Call for Emergency Action to Limit Global Temperature Increases, Restore Biodiversity, and Protect Health. Lancet. (2021). https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01915-2/fulltext#%20
[3] National Centers for Environmental Information. (2023). Billion Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/
[4] Climate Change as a Social Determinant of Health. Pediatrics. (2020). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7193972/
[5] Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Climate and Health Advocacy. https://aafa.org/advocacy/key-issues/climate-and-health/
[6] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Allergens and Pollen. https://www.cdc.gov/climateandhealth/effects/allergen.htm
[7] The World Economic Forum. (2023). Malaria in the US – Is Climate Change Affecting Disease Spread? https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/07/us-malaria-climate-change-disease-transmission-dengue/
[8] National Resources Defense Council. (2021). The Costs of Inaction: The Economic Burden of Fossil Fuels and Climate Change on Health in the United States. https://www.nrdc.org/press-releases/report-health-costs-climate-change-and-fossil-fuel-pollution-tops-820-billion-year#:~:text=WASHINGTON%20%E2%80%93%20The%20staggering%2C%20often%2D,States%2C%20a%20new%20report%20shows.
[9] Six Climate Change-Related Events in The United States Accounted for About $14 Billion in Lost Lives and Health Costs. (2011). Health Affairs. https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0229
Dental Practice Management enables Dental Service Organizations (DSOs) and dental providers to reach their full potential. With Dental Practice Management, you can streamline administrative processes to benefit employees and patients through innovative technologies and strategies. It also makes your business resilient, competitive and scalable, even in an uncertain market.
Building an effective Dental Practice Management system requires a good understanding of the industry and what it takes to optimize operations. Below, we discuss the basics of Dental Practice Management, including its benefits and some best practices for developing a functional system.
Dental Practice Management Explained
Dental Practice Management is a system that identifies lapses in operations and implements strategies to close those gaps. It’s a tailored process that helps dental practitioners and administrators streamline operations. At ProspHire, our Dental Practice Management experts help create scalable businesses by closely examining the operations and providing solutions to make them more efficient in the provision of quality patient care.
Effective Dental Practice Management programs are simple yet comprehensive. They streamline workflow with organized systems and technology and provide growth opportunities to create a well-managed and effective dental practice that can succeed.
What Are the Benefits of Dental Practice Management?
Dental Practice Management offers many benefits. Here are some examples:
Streamlines Operations
Dental Practice Management allows you to implement efficient and standardized processes for your practice. Good organizational planning and technological solutions optimize workflow. As a result, you can improve collaboration and communication, reduce costs and better comply with industry standards and regulations.
Streamlined operations improve the ability of a DSO to work effectively with its affiliated offices via alignment on systems, protocols and centralized and localized resources. Structure amplifies the ability of the DSO to provide comprehensive support to practices ultimately improving opportunity for positive financial and treatment outcomes.
Simplifies Staff Management
One of the first steps to creating an efficient practice is having a well-organized and functioning staff. Practice Management enables you to assess your current staff’s strengths and provide the tools to help them grow.
For example, it creates a platform where you can monitor each person’s input, letting you know how to tailor your training initiatives. It also considers strategies to encourage your employees to accept new changes, considering factors like age differences and exposure to modern technology.
Dental Practice Management can also help you set employment standards, assign roles, improve communication, collaboration and teamwork and implement proper hiring systems.
Improves Talent Acquisition
Onboarding new talent is as important as managing your existing team. Talent acquisition should go beyond getting academically and professionally qualified recruits, as you also want to find employees who fit into your practice’s culture and mission.
Dental Practical Management leverages modern tools to identify the best candidates for your practice. It also helps you establish recruiting systems capable of examining behavioral traits and assessing how they match your demands.
Reduces Errors
Eliminating errors is fundamental for any healthcare practitioner and can save you time and money. Traditional dental practices often involve tedious administrative processes that can cause employees to lose focus and make errors, but you can fix that.
You can employ automated solutions to handle processes like billing and scheduling. Digital tools are highly accurate and can process large amounts of data, removing inconsistencies and creating reliable outcomes. As a result, you can free up your staff to focus on more in-depth, engaging tasks.
Optimizes Client Access
Your website and front office are the gateways to your dental practice and are where you first interact with patients. An effective Dental Practice Management system allows you to accommodate patients and make them feel at home, so you leave them with a positive initial experience every time.
A Practice Management system makes it simple for you to connect with patients. It focuses on aspects such as:
Accessing preliminary information like contact information and areas of specialization
Scheduling appointments
Keeping records
Communicating with clients regularly
Improves Overall Patient Experience
Dental Practice Management helps you create lasting client relationships. Simple things like knowing clients by name or face and streamlining their appointments can make a difference. With a streamlined workflow through Dental Practice Management, you can build a better experience in the office and during virtual consultations.
Drives Revenue and Growth
One of the main goals of a management system is to drive growth, which is usually a natural consequence of proper staff and financial management, process automation and client satisfaction. Dental Practice Management lets you build a scalable enterprise capable of withstanding uncertainties. You can leverage data to make financial decisions and plan.
What Are Dental Practice Management Best Practices?
Define your needs: Define what you need to grow your practice and build the system around that. Having a clear path helps you determine the most practical strategies.
Leverage technology: Digital transformation is integral to all business operations today. Automate your processes, starting with the most basic functions. Use technology to streamline operations for both employees and patients.
Listen to your staff: Your management strategies are most effective when every employee is onboard. Consider their concerns and develop solutions to help them perform optimally. Also, engage them in continuous training programs and set clear goals and expectations.
Consider patient communication: Focus on making communication simple yet effective for patients. For example, if you notice many patients submit appointment requests through your website, consider implementing a chatbot to make that experience even better.
Create flexible payment options: Never underestimate the convenience of having flexible financial options. Allow patients to select from various payment options like cash, credit cards and checks. Payment plans and financing are also effective solutions.
Hire a consultant: Dental Practice Management consultants have the experience to examine your operations and execute solutions to help you grow your business. Choose a company that understands your industry and your business’s needs to make your investment worthwhile.
3 Tips to Consider When Choosing a Dental Practice Management Company
Here are some tips for choosing the best Dental Practice Management company for your establishment:
Do your research: Ask colleagues for referrals and interview different companies before deciding. Also, establish criteria for the kind of professional you want to engage.
Prioritize industry knowledge and experience: The best consultants have a wealth of experience that lets them evaluate different options. They can help you make effective decisions and provide personalized solutions.
Consider customer relationships: It’s best to work with consultants interested in seeing your business thrive. Listen carefully and take notes of their responses when you ask questions. This way, you can gauge whether they seem to truly care about your success.
Choose ProspHire for Your Dental Practice Management
ProspHire assists DSOs and dental providers in developing innovative solutions to streamline operations and drive growth. Our expertise and quality services have won us several awards across the United States and we continue to serve clients with a supportive culture.
Contact us today to learn more. We’re ready to build a long-lasting relationship with you.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2024 Star Ratings for Medicare Advantage plans on October 13th, 2023.
The 2024 Star Ratings incorporated several changes to the methodology, including the introduction of the cut point modifying statistical technique – Tukey outlier deletion. The realized outcomes of Tukey were just as significant as expected. The MAPD average dropped from the 2023 level of 3.76 to 3.62 in 2024, making this the lowest performance within the last six Star Years. Of the plans that received a star rating in 2023,64% of health plans saw a decrease in rating in Star Year 2024.
The ratings also showed that 42% of MAPD plans earned an overall rating of 4 stars or higher for Star Year 2024, down slightly from 51% in Star Year 2023. However, when weighted by enrollment, 74% of MAPD enrollees are currently in 4+ star plans for Star Year 2024 which is in line with industry trends.
Thirty-one MAPD contracts earned 5 stars, marking them as highest quality “high performing” plans. CMS highlighted these plans on the Medicare Plan Finder website to help beneficiaries identify top-rated options.
A further breakdown of the data shows that performance varies significantly by profit vs non-profit plans. Non-profit MAPDs plans were almost twice as likely to receive 4+ Stars compared to those for-profit plans (~56% vs. ~36%). Also, in line with industry trends, the MAPD plans with longer tenure also scored higher relative to newer plans.
Our team put together Phase 1 of our SY2024 Insights and Analysis to begin to “tell the story” for SY2024.
Rating Swing Distribution from Prior Year1
Average Star Rating Year Over Year1
Distribution of Star Rating SY2023 and SY20241
In SY2024, CMS continued the emphasis on Member experience by continuing to utilize the 4x weighted for the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey measures and health plan operations measures.
Using the data presented in the tables below, our team conducted an analysis on the distribution of overall plan ratings in correlation with a plan’s performance in five domains. We aggregated performance measures within each domain to create a comprehensive domain score. This assessment allowed us to gain insights into what aspects health plans prioritize to achieve high performance in the 4- to 5-star range, considering health plan performance in CAHPS, HEDIS, Pharmacy, Operations, and HOS.
Key Highlights:
The Operations domain demonstrated a more concentrated performance range for high-performing plans, with 82% of 4.0+ star plans achieving a score of 4.0 or higher in the designated measures.
In order to achieve 4.0+ Stars, plans were required to succeed in CAHPS. Of the 147 plans that received a 4.0+ star, 88% of them had a minimum CAHPS scoring average of 3.5 stars.
In line with CMS methodology weighting, HEDIS, Pharmacy, and HOS showed a more expected spread in overall health plan performance based on the domain’s average rating.
In summary, the health plan operations domain stands out as a consistent and influential factor driving higher Star ratings for health plans. Thus, it should remain a focal point for health plans aiming to achieve a 4- to 5-star overall rating. Additionally, while CAHPS carries significant weight, strong performance in other domain areas can compensate for subpar survey results, specifically HEDIS being a large driver.
As we enter the final stretch of the performance year SY2025, it is essential to place significant emphasis on the efforts of Q4. Health plans should arrange all available resources and make every effort, giving special attention to driving improvements in HEDIS performance. This Q4 push can act as an additional safeguard prior to the CAHPS survey distribution in March 2024.
Looking forward to the arrival of CY2024 (SY2026), health plans must be attentive to an upcoming CMS methodology adjustment. Starting from the performance year 2024, CMS will assign similar weight to CAHPS, Operations, HEDIS and Pharmacy measures (CAHPS and Operations measures shifting from 4x weight to 2x weight). This signifies a shift away from over-reliance on member experience as primary performance drivers. Instead, it requires a strategic approach to enhance performance across all areas.
Plan Count by Overall Rating & Average CAHPS Rating1,2,3
Plan Count by Overall Rating & Average HEDIS Rating1,2,3
Plan Count by Overall Rating & Average Pharmacy Rating1,2,3
Plan Count by Overall Rating & Average Operations Rating1,2,3
Plan Count by Overall Rating & Average HOS Rating1,2,3
If you have any questions or are curious to speak about your plans Star Rating and how we can help improve, submit the form on the right.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which serves as an important reminder to schedule regular wellness visits with your healthcare practitioner. According to the National Cancer Institute, one in eight women will develop breast cancer during their lifetimes1. When we take a closer look and consider the demographic data surrounding breast cancer outcomes, worrying disparities emerge between rates of diagnosis and mortality between different groups.
For example, while white women are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer, black women are more likely to die from the disease. Race and discrimination are an example of a social determinant of health (SDOH), which are the non-medical factors which influence health outcomes2. We will further address race and other SDOH factors which contribute to disparities in health outcomes and assess ways these disparities can be addressed.
Establishing the SDOH-Driven Disparities in Breast Cancer Outcomes
When assessing causes of cancer, generally more attention is paid to genetics and individual health behaviors than SDOH influences. However, there is strong evidence that breast cancer outcomes are influenced by SDOH factors, which emphasizes the importance of at-risk groups obtaining regular breast cancer screenings from their doctor.
Race has emerged as a main contributing SDOH factor to breast cancer health outcomes. White women are more likely than black women to be diagnosed with breast cancer, but black women are 40% more likely to die from the disease3. A research study conducted by the University of Illinois-Chicago concluded that social determinants of health are the roots of these racial disparities in breast cancer outcomes4. Specifically, the study cited neighborhood disadvantage and insurance status as contributors of 19% of this outcome disparity5. Addressing these barriers on a large scale will require wider public policy changes, but the key is to identify short-term interventions to fix such disparities.
Lack of insurance is correlated with poorer health outcomes. There is evidence that state expansion of Medicaid enrollment contributes to improved breast cancer health outcomes. Women from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, who might normally avoid the doctor due to cost or burden of access, are able to obtain breast cancer screenings (mammography) through Medicaid. Prior to the Affordable Care Act, this is evidenced by overall higher rates of mammogram screenings in states which have expanded Medicaid6. For example, incidence rates of black women being diagnosed with breast cancer decreased from 24.6% to 21.6% in states which expanded access to Medicaid compared to states that did not expand access, which sit at about 27%7.
Closing the Gap
Consistently throughout this analysis, lack of health insurance access, for both the uninsured and underinsured, has emerged as a driving factor for disparities in breast cancer health outcomes. This is especially the case when a lack of insurance is coupled with socioeconomic disadvantage. Whether you are a health plan, accountable care organization or breast cancer awareness organization- what can be done to close this gap?
Specialized health interventions are often the most effective short-term method to address SDOH-driven health disparities. For breast cancer, findings by the Community Preventative Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommend engaging community health workers (CHWs) to increase mammography screenings8. Often, there is a wedge driven between healthcare workers and the public which can be attributed to factors such as community mistrust or lack of health literacy. CHWs serve to bridge this gap, working in tandem with healthcare professionals or on their own. CHWs can assist in making screening services more accessible than a typical doctor’s visit, by assisting with interventions such as group education, 1-to-1 education, client reminders or newsletters9.
How ProspHire Can Help
ProspHire can assist in breast cancer screening adherence improvement strategies and community-based partnership development to support health plans engage members in preventive care. Our practitioners support the strategy and execution to drive improved outcomes for plan members with a focus on health equity.
Bonus Episode of the Soaring to New Health Podcast
This episode is Who the Health is ProspHire. Our hosts, Chris Miladinovich and Dan Crogan are talking with Lauren Miladinovich, CEO, Managing Principal and Co-founder of ProspHire about the history of the Firm, why the focus is 100% on healthcare and why relationships are the number one core value.
Lauren and Chris started the Firm in 2015. Within a year they opened the first office space on the North Shore of the city of Pittsburgh. By year three they determined the focus to be 100% on healthcare, earned a woman in business certification and expanded the headquarters to a new location in the Pittsburgh Power Building in downtown Pittsburgh. As ProspHire was about to hit a milestone five-year anniversary in 2020, COVID cases spiked and we all found ourselves in the midst of a global pandemic. Small but mighty, ProspHire took an agile approach and adapted, pivoted and succeeded in a rapidly changing, ambiguous, turbulent environment. The leadership team is already looking forward to its 10-year anniversary in 2025.
Coming up with a company name was not a priority at the time but ended up being a big deal.
Chris had a few requirements: it had to be less than 2-syllables, the domain name had to be available and it had to be easy to say. ProspHire was derived from the first mission statement that ‘clients hire us to help them prosper’. Everyone in Chris’s inner circle said it was great but it didn’t do well when it hit the market. No one could pronounce it, understand what it was or what it meant. The few years that followed included a lot of marketing dollars to create over 1,000 alternative names… all rejected. To this day, they still have fun with mispronunciations.
Before 2015, Lauren was leading large, complex project management engagements and Chris had experience in health and human services and the consulting industry. Together, they had a passion to do something that helped businesses that helped others. Focusing 100% on the healthcare industry was a natural fit.
One of their favorite activities is the annual Prosper Together Day. The Firm’s charity of choice is the Boys and Girls Clubs and every year in Pittsburgh and now in Philadelphia the employees spend an entire day in interactive STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) activities that teach leadership and life skills, as well as played games with the children of the Clubs. Lauren and Chris’s pet pig Nola sparked the relationship with the Clubs. Nola had her own Facebook page and the Clubs had been following her story when they reached out to propose making her the celebrity for a new Kiss-a-Pig Fundraising Gala.
For more on the history of ProspHire and why client relationships are so important, download the Soaring to New Health podcast, Who the Health is ProspHire, where you find your podcasts.
Medicare’s Plan Preview Period #2 data is available for Health Plans to review in HPMS. Our Medicare Stars Practice Team has been crunching the numbers to see how cut points moved from year to year.
The below images walk you through an in-depth analysis across each Stars domain—HEDIS, HOS, CAHPS, Pharmacy, Administrative—to showcase the individual measure cut point movement across each Star level. The cut points displayed in this analysis are from the draft 2024 Technical Notes from CMS. The finalized 2024 Technical Notes will be released with the remaining public data in early October. The bottom line is that Tukey impacts are real. We observed many dramatic cut point changes at the 2- and 3- Star levels across all measure sets. The compression of cut points was stark and only puts greater pressure on Stars Programs to achieve optimal performance in their Star measures.
We can’t wait for the public data release in early October. At that point we’ll dig into the data and get a real picture of just how dramatic of a role that Tukey Outlier Deletion played on the industry.
If you have any questions about the analysis below or larger questions about how to best achieve and sustain 4.0+ Star performance, connect with our experts today.
Welcome to Season 1, Episode 5 of the Soaring to New Health Podcast.
This episode is The Glass is Half Healthy. We’re talking with Dan LaVallee, Senior Director of Social Impact from the Insurance Services Division at UPMC Health Plan along with Julie Evans, leader of ProspHire’s Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) service offering.
Social Determinants of Health are coming to the forefront of the healthcare industry for a lot of reasons – and one of those is health equity. Health equity is understanding that different individuals across the country have different health outcomes and a lot of that is determined by the zip code they live in. Part of SDOH is thinking about how we can focus our efforts on healthcare to address those specific needs and therefore address health equity as well. An example is if a child with asthma is growing up in a home with overcrowding and poor air circulation. The child will not be able to address their asthma needs without appropriate social determinants of healthcare in housing.
LaVallee says the Center for Social Impact wants to get ahead of scenarios where the population cannot access healthcare with prevention, support and listening to solutions from within those communities. Data shows that if you can find these members supportive housing for 10 months, it can change the trajectory of their healthcare. It takes a coordinated effort of community organizations that provide jobs, housing, benefits access and food programs to create a circle of member trust. The Center’s Cultivating Health for Success Program aims to get homeless Medicaid recipients in Allegheny County (and now Blair and Lawrence Counties) off the streets and into structured, long-term care by combining the resources of UPMC Health Plan and the housing-focused Community Human Services (CHS). Across the State of Pennsylvania, the Regional Accountable Health Council (RAHC) created forums for strategic health planning that provide a community-led approach to implement the planning and coordination of activities that address social determinants of health needs, reduce health disparities and promote health equity and value in health care.
At UPMC Health Plan, the Center for High Value Healthcare evaluates the impact of the programs supported by the Center for Social Impact, like the new Food is Medicine Program. They will help determine what works that is social impact related and then expand on that, all while seeking continual member feedback.
Evans talks about these types of programs helping Stars, HEDIS and CAHPS measures that tie back to the quality health incentives that are so important to health plans for their members. The investment into SDOH programs can show immediate return on investment. The impact of the pandemic is what really highlighted the needs of vulnerable individuals. Today we are seeing an influx of funding to support community-based organizations and health plans to address those needs but the concern is that as the public health emergency lifted the funds will dwindle and programs will not be sustained. That’s a huge barrier to housing and transportation challenges, which are being spotlighted right now. The future will include how to address these needs without funding.
At UPMC Health Plan’s Center for Social Impact, LaVallee says they are doing a good job of staying ahead of these challenges through investment and community partnerships and leveraging a model that can scale in one community and be replicated in others. There is no intention of slowing down.
For more on Social Determinants of Health, why they are important to measure and how they can play a role in more efficient care with better patient outcomes, download the Soaring to New Health podcast, The Glass is Half Healthy, where you find your podcasts.
Healthy Aging Month is observed during the month of September. This observance raises awareness on the physical, mental, social and financial wellness of older adults and serves as a reminder that as we age, our minds and bodies change. It is essential to maintain a healthy and positive lifestyle to help deal with those changes and to help prevent common age-related health problems. Even if you have not thought of these changes, it is never too late to consider ways to re-invent yourself.
No Age Limit to Adopting Healthy Habits
The United States boasts an increasingly aging population; according to the 2020 census, 1 in 6 people are now over the age of 65[1]. This trend is largely driven by the size of the Baby Boomer generation, born 1946-1964. By the 2030’s, it is estimated that older adults (over the age of 65) will outnumber the number of children (under the age of 18)[2]. Figure 1 illustrates this trend over the past century, which further emphasizes the importance of adopting healthy aging habits[3].
What Are Healthy Habits and Behaviors for a Healthy Life?
Embrace a well-rounded approach to your well-being during Healthy Awareness Month and beyond, with a collection of empowering habits and behaviors that build lifelong health and vitality. Try some of these healthy habits and behaviors:
Take a proactive health approach by maintaining healthy habits throughout your life
Adopt a healthy diet and incorporate moderate physical exercise into your daily routine
Monitor your health by receiving regular health screenings from your doctor
Volunteer and get involved with local groups to maintain a sense of community
Take advantage of rewards & incentives tied to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Talk to your insurance plan today.
How Can ProspHire Help?
ProspHire has subject matter experts working closely with Health Plans, Provider Practices and Community Specialists to enhance healthy lifestyle opportunities while optimizing current benefit offerings. The healthcare community can attain an excellent level of insight into outcomes via Quality Measures. It provides a deeper understanding of how various internal and external contributing factors play a critical role in one’s outcome.
ProspHire is continuously working with key stakeholders to leverage data indicated by these contributing factors such as Social Determinants, Health Equity and Geographical Indicators to improve Quality Measures and provide the right resources needed to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
