Latest thinking
We’re pleased to present the latest perspectives from SameSky Health and our industry experts on the state of healthcare and health equity. Through webinars, playbooks, case studies, blog posts, and more, explore our perspectives on healthcare trends.
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For information about our live discussion series and podcast, check Under the Same Sky.
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Case study: Supporting the SDOH needs of members improves outcomes
Unidentified needs within the social determinants of health (SDOH) can easily create a myriad of barriers to care for members. Our newest case study offers compelling results, showing that members are more likely to take action — both in attempting to access needed resources, as well as attending an Annual Wellness Visit — when their SDOH needs are identified.
The future of healthcare
Abner Mason, founder and CEO of SameSky Health, met with Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, health economist, communicator, and “trend weaver” for THINK-Health and Health Populi. The conversation focused on the future of healthcare and innovative approaches to expanding access to care through the intersection of health, technology, and people.
Case study: Motivating Medicaid members to complete Annual Wellness Visits
A large multi-state health plan partnered with SameSky Health to leverage our CultureGuide® solution to engage a subset of its Medicaid members. The plan had multiple objectives, including a focus on Annual Wellness Visits (AWVs), for which they wanted to achieve a 6% success rate. They also wanted to ensure that members were educated on prenatal care, while improving HEDIS® measures and advancing health equity. The results with CultureGuide over a twelve-month period are compelling.
Case study: Addressing social and behavioral health needs in Managed Medicaid populations
A large multi-state health plan providing managed healthcare services under multiple lines of business partnered with SameSky Health to leverage our CultureGuide® solutions to engage a subset of its Medicaid members. The plan had multiple objectives, including surfacing needs within the social determinants of health. Taking a culturally tailored approach to member outreach enabled the plan to achieve compelling results.
Case study: Closing member data gaps within Managed Medicaid populations
In the spring of 2022, a large multi-state health plan providing managed health care services under the Medicaid and Medicare programs, and through state insurance Marketplaces, partnered with SameSky Health to engage a subset of its Medicaid members. One objective was to ensure that member demographic details were accurate and complete, and to surface social drivers of health needs.
Drive better health outcomes through increased Medicare member participation in Annual Wellness Visits
SameSky Health hosted a webinar, Drive better health outcomes through increased Medicare member participation in Annual Wellness Visits, to discuss our unique, culturally tailored approach to engage Medicare Advantage members in completing Annual Wellness Visits (AWVs). A national health plan recently partnered with SameSky Health using the CultureGuide™ solution to build member trust, increase plan satisfaction, improve data collection and resource utilization, as well as increase wellness visits. Meredith Welsh, senior vice president of health operations for SameSky Health, presented several findings from the past 12 months.
Quantifying the impact of the social determinants of health featuring Socially Determined
As part of our ongoing discussion series, Under the Same Sky, Abner Mason, founder and CEO of SameSky Health, met with Dr. Trenor Williams, CEO and co-founder of Socially Determined, to talk about the importance of social risk data. The conversation focused on the value of quantifying the impact of the social determinants of health (SDOH) and actions that health plans can take to improve health outcomes, reduce health disparities, and track measurable results.
White paper: Closing the maternal health gap
Health plans play a vital role in addressing health disparities and improving outcomes, especially when it comes to women’s health as a whole, and more specifically, in improving maternal health. This role requires increased effort and a strategy for understanding current health inequities and improving maternal health outcomes.
Advancing maternal health equity featuring Mahmee
Did you know that in the United States, Black women are nearly three times more likely to die from childbirth complications than any other ethnic group? As part of our ongoing discussion series Under the Same Sky, Abner Mason, founder and CEO of SameSky Health, met with Melissa Hanna, CEO, and Dr. Amanda Williams, Medical Director of Mahmee. This important conversation covered the unique and holistic approaches Mahmee has been using to support women during pregnancy and postpartum care to close gaps in maternal care.
Get to know your members and establish trusted relationships
Establishing relationships and getting to know members is the first step that needs to be taken in order to build trust and uncover barriers. As part of our ongoing discussion series Under the Same Sky, Abner Mason, founder and CEO of SameSky Health, and Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick, founder and CEO of Grapevine Health, discussed the importance of health literacy, community outreach, and member engagement in order to improve health outcomes.
Effective strategies for collecting health-equity-related member data to identify and address health disparities
SameSky Health hosted a webinar, Effective strategies for collecting health equity-related member data to identify and address health disparities, to discuss solutions to successfully collect critical member data to track health equity metrics and execute effective initiatives. The featured speakers were Abner Mason, founder and CEO of SameSky Health, and Meredith Welsh, SVP of health operations at SameSky Health. View the recording.
Why prioritizing the advancement of health equity can bring success to health plans
Health equity and the social determinants of health (SDOH) have become buzzwords that are requiring action from all sectors within the healthcare industry. Given that 80% of clinical outcomes are attributable to SDOH, especially among traditionally marginalized populations, what can payers do now to help navigate through the challenges that come along with the new requirements of advancing health equity?
White paper: Culturally tailored outreach drives action
Culture is not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about healthcare — but it should be. As health plans develop new strategies and approaches to member engagement, they must consider the influence that culture has on behavior. Learn how cultural characteristics influence members and how tailored outreach helps build trust and drive action.
Addressing food insecurity to advance health equity
Studies show that food insecurity is directly related to chronic illness. One study from the USDA showed that lower food security was associated with a higher probability of having any of a list of chronic diseases, including hypertension, coronary heart disease, hepatitis, stroke, cancer, asthma, diabetes, arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and kidney disease.
Bridging the gaps to address social determinants of health
Over the past decade, social determinants of health (SDOH) has become a common phrase within the healthcare industry, but it is still one of the hardest problems to solve. How can we finally bridge the gap to care for so many? Why are there still so many challenges after all these years? While there are no quick fixes, the first step we should consider is to solve the information problem — the accessibility for people to understand all their benefits and options. The ability for people to know what is available for their use is essential for them to be able to choose for themselves.
The impact of engaging members through culturally tailored outreach
The old approach to healthcare just isn’t working. People want to be treated uniquely based on their background, culture, and needs. As individuals, we all differ in how we understand, engage with, and use the healthcare system. Using culturally tailored outreach with members contributes to building trust and allows us to gather better data. We must treat members like who they are, matters.
The halo effect of improving health outcomes through incentives
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs illustrates that our basic needs are physiological, including food, shelter, and clothing. But what if you can’t meet your basic needs? What if you have food or housing insecurity? What if you have bills you can’t pay? When you are having trouble meeting your fundamental needs, you may want to take care of yourself, but you can’t. This can be particularly disastrous for people with chronic conditions.
White paper: Five Steps to reduce coverage loss for Managed Medicaid plan members
Learn the most important steps you need to take to reduce coverage loss for your Managed Medicaid members — along with context, background, facts, and figures to help understand what’s ahead when the public health emergency is finally declared to be over.
White paper: Moving the dial on health equity
Although the healthcare industry has long been aware of systemic inequities, real progress on eliminating them has been slow. There are still enormous health disparities linked to factors such as race, income, ethnicity and location. Learn how health plans can overcome the barriers to health equity and the benefits for both members and plans.
The pivotal role culture plays in healthcare
The US Census now projects that the country will become majority minority by 2045. What does this mean for health plans? A lot, actually.