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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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.
Key considerations for integrating health equity into your technology and data practices
SameSky Health hosted a webinar to display how techquity can be interwoven into all aspects of business. Abner Mason, founder and CEO of SameSky Health, was joined by Josh Siegel, chief technology officer, and Hannah Arnson, director of data science at SameSky Health, to discuss how SameSky Health is using techquity to drive personalization at scale, to create unique, culturally tailored member experiences in order to build trust and increase member engagement.
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.
Preparing for the unwinding of the Continuous Enrollment Provision
For health plan leaders, it's essential to have an effective outreach strategy in place to engage Medicaid members, make them aware of the impending redetermination process, and help guide them so they can retain health benefits coverage either through Medicaid if they remain eligible, or if they're not, through a Marketplace or other option. As part of our ongoing discussion series Under the Same Sky, Abner Mason discussed this important topic and the role that technology plays in helping Medicaid members retain coverage with Samantha Murphy from Salesforce.
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.
Health equity: Predictions for 2023
We believe that we’re about to kick off a transformative year when health equity talk turns to action. So, what’s in store for 2023?
To find out, we reached out to more than a dozen influential health equity leaders to get their thoughts on the year ahead. Over the next several weeks, we’ll be highlighting each prediction in this blog post, sharing the spotlight with a wide range of healthcare leaders to hear what they had to say.
How to begin your journey towards equitable healthcare
As part of our ongoing discussion series Under the Same Sky, Abner Mason, founder and CEO of SameSky Health, discussed the journey to make our country’s healthcare system more equitable with Dr. Bryan O. Buckley, director of health equity initiatives for NCQA. Where can healthcare organizations start on their journey to reach health equity?
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?
Case study: Motivating Medicare Advantage members to complete Annual Wellness Visits
In April of 2022, a national health plan partnered with SameSky Health to engage a population of nearly 40,000 hard-to-reach, hard-to-engage Medicare Advantage members — those who haven’t seen a physician in between 16 to 48 months. The objective was to drive members to schedule and attend their recommended Annual Wellness Visit (AWV).
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.
White paper: Better data for more equitable healthcare
Advancing health equity begins with accurate data collection. Health plans play a critical role in driving this effort because of their visibility into members' needs. They must collect essential data about individuals, including race, ethnicity and language (REL) data, sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data, and social determinants of health (SDOH) information. Learn how this data can be used to get to the root causes of health disparities.
Doing the right thing for Medicaid members: How health plans can prepare now for the end of the public health emergency
With the unwinding of the public health emergency (PHE), an estimated 15 million Medicaid enrollees will have to go through the redetermination process to see if they still qualify for coverage. How can plans get ahead of this and make sure they get it right for their members?
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.
From startups to large corporations, equity is on the minds of healthcare tech leaders
In the last few years, health equity has become the focus for many organizations, from startups to large corporations. And while there is no one single answer to addressing health equity, the renewed attention on it is bringing forth new insights and innovations.
The rise of diversity, equity, and inclusion and the opportunity to do more
Since 2015, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) roles have more than doubled. Further fueled by the murder of George Floyd and the disparities brought to light by the COVID-19 pandemic, DEI is quickly moving from a “nice to have” to a “must have” for many companies.
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.
Insure the Uninsured Project helps make critical connections
From unwinding the public health emergency (PHE) to expanding eligibility for coverage, the state of California leads the way when it comes to public health policy. And for many of its advancements, Insure the Uninsured Project (ITUP) has been there to help guide policy, connecting leaders from government, health plans, and local communities to effect real change within the state.