1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,720 Imagine this. You're at the Swiss Hotel in 2 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:06,399 Chicago surrounded by top executives from leading insurance 3 00:00:06,399 --> 00:00:08,099 companies and health systems. 4 00:00:08,480 --> 00:00:12,160 Welcome to Becker's Fall Pair Issues Roundtable, November 5 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:13,859 4th through 6, 2024. 6 00:00:14,625 --> 00:00:17,345 Picture the excitement as you gather business cards 7 00:00:17,345 --> 00:00:20,005 from over 500 executive level attendees, 8 00:00:20,545 --> 00:00:22,164 building invaluable connections. 9 00:00:22,704 --> 00:00:25,345 Feel the energy as you participate in over 10 00:00:25,345 --> 00:00:29,285 26 educational sessions led by 90 elite speakers. 11 00:00:29,769 --> 00:00:32,969 Envision yourself engaging in lively discussions about new 12 00:00:32,969 --> 00:00:36,409 health plans, hospital at home models, behavioral health, 13 00:00:36,409 --> 00:00:37,549 and price transparency. 14 00:00:38,170 --> 00:00:41,690 Now imagine being inspired by keynotes from boxing 15 00:00:41,690 --> 00:00:45,045 legend, Sugar Ray Leonard, and 4 time NBA 16 00:00:45,184 --> 00:00:47,744 All Star, Chris Webber. Their stories will leave 17 00:00:47,744 --> 00:00:50,004 you motivated and ready to innovate. 18 00:00:50,384 --> 00:00:53,024 Don't miss out on this unique opportunity. Get 19 00:00:53,024 --> 00:00:55,204 registered today. Visit beckershospital 20 00:01:11,495 --> 00:01:13,334 Thanks so much for tuning in today where 21 00:01:13,334 --> 00:01:16,215 we're joined by a special guest. Doctor John 22 00:01:16,215 --> 00:01:19,814 Kim is Alignment Health's chief medical officer for 23 00:01:19,814 --> 00:01:21,594 the company's West Coast Markets. 24 00:01:21,895 --> 00:01:23,814 Doctor Kim, thank you so much for taking 25 00:01:23,814 --> 00:01:24,935 the time to be with us on the 26 00:01:24,935 --> 00:01:25,755 podcast today. 27 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:28,020 Oh, thank you for having me, Jacob. 28 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:30,320 Yeah. Likewise. And we have a lot that 29 00:01:30,320 --> 00:01:32,560 we wanna, talk with you about, John. But 30 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:34,719 before we get started, do you mind telling 31 00:01:34,719 --> 00:01:37,060 us a little bit more about your career 32 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:39,120 in health care and what it is that 33 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:41,540 you are doing today at Alignment Health? 34 00:01:42,295 --> 00:01:43,094 Sure. I've, 35 00:01:43,655 --> 00:01:45,755 well, I've always been in the senior space, 36 00:01:46,454 --> 00:01:48,795 since I started my career here in California. 37 00:01:49,655 --> 00:01:52,234 Prior to, I was with another Medicare Advantage 38 00:01:53,575 --> 00:01:56,234 organization where we did things, 39 00:01:57,015 --> 00:01:57,515 similar 40 00:01:57,900 --> 00:01:59,200 to what we do here. 41 00:01:59,900 --> 00:02:01,359 But I've been with Alignment 42 00:02:02,459 --> 00:02:04,880 Alignment Health for now 10 years. 43 00:02:05,420 --> 00:02:07,359 My background is I'm an internist, 44 00:02:08,300 --> 00:02:08,800 focusing 45 00:02:09,099 --> 00:02:11,099 on hospital based medicine. But, 46 00:02:12,405 --> 00:02:14,344 over the years, I've experienced some outpatient 47 00:02:14,965 --> 00:02:16,264 clinic care as well. 48 00:02:17,125 --> 00:02:19,465 Fantastic. So you've been with an align alignment 49 00:02:19,525 --> 00:02:22,484 for a decade now, and the company just 50 00:02:22,484 --> 00:02:25,044 released its annual social threats to aging well 51 00:02:25,044 --> 00:02:25,704 in America 52 00:02:26,004 --> 00:02:26,504 survey 53 00:02:26,805 --> 00:02:27,544 in August. 54 00:02:28,219 --> 00:02:30,139 Can you give us an overview of those 55 00:02:30,139 --> 00:02:33,180 survey findings and and maybe what surprised you 56 00:02:33,180 --> 00:02:33,680 most, 57 00:02:33,979 --> 00:02:35,360 from from this year's 58 00:02:35,659 --> 00:02:36,879 from this year's survey? 59 00:02:37,580 --> 00:02:39,419 Sure. Yeah. This is Jacob. This is our 60 00:02:39,500 --> 00:02:41,500 actually our 3rd year that we've done the 61 00:02:41,500 --> 00:02:42,000 survey. 62 00:02:42,860 --> 00:02:43,360 And 63 00:02:44,435 --> 00:02:45,635 I would say that 64 00:02:46,115 --> 00:02:49,395 well, 1, as far as, any surprises, I 65 00:02:49,395 --> 00:02:50,294 would say that, 66 00:02:51,474 --> 00:02:53,474 from the findings, I I didn't I don't 67 00:02:53,474 --> 00:02:56,034 think we actually found things surprising. I think 68 00:02:56,034 --> 00:02:57,409 it just more confirmed 69 00:02:57,709 --> 00:02:58,930 what we've already 70 00:02:59,469 --> 00:03:00,370 known in alignment, 71 00:03:01,069 --> 00:03:02,209 with the social threats. 72 00:03:02,989 --> 00:03:04,829 But the top three threats that, 73 00:03:05,389 --> 00:03:05,889 our 74 00:03:06,269 --> 00:03:09,090 surveyors respond to were aging in place, 75 00:03:10,665 --> 00:03:11,165 transportation 76 00:03:11,544 --> 00:03:12,044 access, 77 00:03:13,544 --> 00:03:14,044 economic 78 00:03:14,425 --> 00:03:14,925 security 79 00:03:15,705 --> 00:03:17,305 were the top 3. And then, 80 00:03:17,625 --> 00:03:20,044 the others were lack of support, mental health, 81 00:03:20,585 --> 00:03:21,085 loneliness, 82 00:03:22,264 --> 00:03:23,965 cultural, and food insecurity. 83 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:26,159 And then I would say, 84 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:28,639 something else to call out is that 9 85 00:03:28,639 --> 00:03:31,060 out of 10 seniors that we surveyed actually, 86 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:34,719 say they're impacted by one of the social 87 00:03:34,719 --> 00:03:37,860 determinants of health. Pretty pretty alarming, I think. 88 00:03:38,205 --> 00:03:41,344 Yeah. Absolutely. That's a that's an amazing statistic. 89 00:03:42,764 --> 00:03:45,644 What do you think these these answers from 90 00:03:45,644 --> 00:03:47,425 these seniors indicate about 91 00:03:47,965 --> 00:03:51,004 senior health care in America moving forward? It 92 00:03:51,004 --> 00:03:54,379 seems like SDOH is is a huge focus 93 00:03:54,379 --> 00:03:56,460 right now. You mentioned some of the issues 94 00:03:56,460 --> 00:03:57,280 around transportation, 95 00:03:57,580 --> 00:03:59,199 economic issues, food insecurity. 96 00:03:59,740 --> 00:04:01,819 So so what does that spell out for 97 00:04:01,819 --> 00:04:02,480 for us, 98 00:04:03,020 --> 00:04:05,199 in terms of senior health care moving forward? 99 00:04:05,965 --> 00:04:08,444 Well, I I think we have a as 100 00:04:08,444 --> 00:04:10,044 a society, we have a long ways to 101 00:04:10,044 --> 00:04:10,444 go. 102 00:04:11,564 --> 00:04:13,644 When we started alignment, we we knew, 103 00:04:14,044 --> 00:04:17,084 social determinants of health as a barrier. It's 104 00:04:17,084 --> 00:04:19,185 actually a huge barrier. When you look at 105 00:04:20,029 --> 00:04:22,029 the patients that we take care of, they're 106 00:04:22,029 --> 00:04:22,529 not 107 00:04:23,069 --> 00:04:23,569 complex 108 00:04:24,350 --> 00:04:25,250 medical conditions. 109 00:04:25,550 --> 00:04:27,330 They're actually your typical 110 00:04:28,029 --> 00:04:31,389 conditions that a normal PCP and specialist can 111 00:04:31,389 --> 00:04:33,650 take care of, your heart failures, diabetes, 112 00:04:34,354 --> 00:04:35,814 you know, asthma, COPD. 113 00:04:37,394 --> 00:04:38,214 But there 114 00:04:38,675 --> 00:04:39,254 are simple, 115 00:04:40,115 --> 00:04:41,894 conditions that can be managed 116 00:04:42,194 --> 00:04:45,095 complicated by all these social threats. 117 00:04:46,115 --> 00:04:46,615 So 118 00:04:47,089 --> 00:04:49,410 I would say the system today isn't built 119 00:04:49,410 --> 00:04:49,910 to 120 00:04:50,529 --> 00:04:54,050 take care of these social threats. PCPs and 121 00:04:54,050 --> 00:04:56,210 specialists can take care of these conditions fine, 122 00:04:56,210 --> 00:04:57,589 but they're just not built 123 00:04:57,970 --> 00:04:59,110 to be able to tackle 124 00:04:59,569 --> 00:05:00,675 aging in place, 125 00:05:01,074 --> 00:05:01,574 transportation, 126 00:05:02,194 --> 00:05:02,595 and, 127 00:05:03,394 --> 00:05:04,534 economic insecurities, 128 00:05:04,834 --> 00:05:05,495 the loneliness. 129 00:05:06,274 --> 00:05:08,834 And that's where organizations like us were, you 130 00:05:08,834 --> 00:05:10,675 know I think we're at the forefront that 131 00:05:10,675 --> 00:05:13,574 we've thought through all these challenges. 132 00:05:13,875 --> 00:05:15,974 And so we've tailored our 133 00:05:16,759 --> 00:05:17,899 supplemental benefits, 134 00:05:18,759 --> 00:05:19,899 really to support 135 00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:22,680 the social barriers, and then we've also built 136 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:24,459 built clinical programs 137 00:05:24,759 --> 00:05:27,019 to really support the Freelisk members 138 00:05:27,959 --> 00:05:29,660 that deal with these social barriers. 139 00:05:30,995 --> 00:05:33,555 Absolutely. And it's been really fascinating to to 140 00:05:33,555 --> 00:05:36,035 watch how alignment has evolved throughout the years 141 00:05:36,035 --> 00:05:38,675 and the different products and different offerings you've 142 00:05:38,675 --> 00:05:41,074 you've created for your members. I I remember 143 00:05:41,074 --> 00:05:43,314 covering one story about alignment, in regards to 144 00:05:43,314 --> 00:05:45,814 the Walgreens partnership and and the plan there. 145 00:05:46,169 --> 00:05:48,089 So I think the natural question for you, 146 00:05:48,089 --> 00:05:50,669 doctor Kim, is how is alignment responding 147 00:05:51,050 --> 00:05:53,129 to to these survey results? And maybe not 148 00:05:53,129 --> 00:05:55,870 even just from from this year's survey, but 149 00:05:56,009 --> 00:05:58,569 in in years past, how is a business' 150 00:05:58,569 --> 00:06:01,529 alignment responding to what these seniors are telling 151 00:06:01,529 --> 00:06:01,904 you? 152 00:06:02,865 --> 00:06:04,785 Well, Jacob, we, you know, we listen to 153 00:06:04,785 --> 00:06:05,105 our, 154 00:06:05,824 --> 00:06:08,305 our seniors, number 1. I mean, they're they 155 00:06:08,305 --> 00:06:10,305 make it very clear what what their needs 156 00:06:10,305 --> 00:06:11,204 are, and we 157 00:06:11,985 --> 00:06:14,884 tailor our supplemental benefits to, 158 00:06:15,504 --> 00:06:18,009 really support them. So, you know, if it's 159 00:06:18,009 --> 00:06:21,229 economic and insecurity, it's going through our formulary 160 00:06:21,449 --> 00:06:22,350 pharmacy formulary 161 00:06:23,050 --> 00:06:25,129 and finding where we can make the most 162 00:06:25,129 --> 00:06:25,629 impact 163 00:06:26,250 --> 00:06:26,729 by, 164 00:06:27,129 --> 00:06:29,850 you know, finding the most common medications where 165 00:06:29,850 --> 00:06:31,949 we can, you know, have a a $0 166 00:06:32,569 --> 00:06:33,310 co pay. 167 00:06:34,355 --> 00:06:35,334 It's transportation, 168 00:06:35,875 --> 00:06:37,894 making sure that we have enough transportation 169 00:06:38,194 --> 00:06:39,074 rides for, 170 00:06:39,955 --> 00:06:41,415 the most vulnerable members. 171 00:06:41,955 --> 00:06:44,855 You know, it's funny. I we've had pet, 172 00:06:45,235 --> 00:06:47,555 services for quite some time. And, you know, 173 00:06:47,555 --> 00:06:49,769 every time I bring up pet services to 174 00:06:49,769 --> 00:06:50,509 my colleagues, 175 00:06:51,129 --> 00:06:52,410 they kinda chuckle. But, 176 00:06:53,449 --> 00:06:55,290 you know, I can't tell you how many 177 00:06:55,290 --> 00:06:57,529 times I've personally taken care of patients in 178 00:06:57,529 --> 00:06:58,669 the hospital, seniors 179 00:06:59,129 --> 00:07:01,850 that come in with life threatening conditions. But 180 00:07:01,850 --> 00:07:04,169 they're willing to sign up against medical advice 181 00:07:04,169 --> 00:07:06,585 because they have no one else besides their 182 00:07:06,585 --> 00:07:07,725 loved one, their pet. 183 00:07:08,105 --> 00:07:09,145 So, you know, 184 00:07:10,024 --> 00:07:12,264 we've really listened to our we listened to 185 00:07:12,264 --> 00:07:14,824 our seniors and we, you know, again, we 186 00:07:14,824 --> 00:07:16,904 create try to be creative in how we 187 00:07:16,904 --> 00:07:19,329 come up with our supplemental benefits. And we've 188 00:07:19,329 --> 00:07:21,110 done a really good job leading, 189 00:07:22,370 --> 00:07:24,870 being one of the leaders in in how 190 00:07:25,329 --> 00:07:27,430 we're creative with with our design, 191 00:07:27,810 --> 00:07:28,709 product designs. 192 00:07:29,329 --> 00:07:29,990 And then, 193 00:07:31,514 --> 00:07:33,055 you know, we we built, 194 00:07:33,435 --> 00:07:35,754 one of our clinical programs that we've really, 195 00:07:36,314 --> 00:07:37,694 that I'm really proud of, 196 00:07:38,154 --> 00:07:39,535 which is called Care Anywhere, 197 00:07:40,634 --> 00:07:43,055 is the best way I describe it. It's 198 00:07:43,589 --> 00:07:45,050 a concierge program. 199 00:07:45,750 --> 00:07:48,870 It's concierge services, basically, for the people that 200 00:07:48,870 --> 00:07:50,709 I think really need it. It's not for 201 00:07:50,709 --> 00:07:53,670 the wealthy and the executives, but it's for 202 00:07:53,670 --> 00:07:55,770 the frail and the poor. 203 00:07:56,164 --> 00:07:58,985 And so we really offer that 247 204 00:07:59,444 --> 00:08:00,584 concierge service 205 00:08:01,285 --> 00:08:03,464 to that population. And it's not 206 00:08:04,084 --> 00:08:06,485 clinical. It's some of it's clinical, but it's 207 00:08:06,485 --> 00:08:07,785 actually a multidisciplinary 208 00:08:08,404 --> 00:08:09,305 approach of 209 00:08:10,019 --> 00:08:12,899 social workers and health coaches because we now 210 00:08:12,980 --> 00:08:13,959 again, it's not, 211 00:08:14,420 --> 00:08:17,480 you know, complex medical conditions. It's simple, 212 00:08:18,019 --> 00:08:21,240 medical conditions are complicated by these social threats. 213 00:08:22,944 --> 00:08:25,425 Absolutely. And just to reiterate a point that 214 00:08:25,425 --> 00:08:27,605 you had just made, John, in terms of 215 00:08:27,745 --> 00:08:30,225 listening to seniors and then creating products that 216 00:08:30,225 --> 00:08:32,065 that meet their needs, I think that's been 217 00:08:32,065 --> 00:08:34,644 so evidenced by by the fact of alignments, 218 00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:38,759 major growth over these last few years now 219 00:08:38,759 --> 00:08:41,019 surpassing over a 100,000 members 220 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:42,059 in total. 221 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:44,519 But but before we go, John, I I 222 00:08:44,519 --> 00:08:46,759 wanna make sure to offer you the opportunity 223 00:08:46,759 --> 00:08:49,095 to share any parting thoughts with us, final 224 00:08:49,095 --> 00:08:51,735 pieces of advice that you would offer all 225 00:08:51,735 --> 00:08:54,075 the health plan executives listening in. 226 00:08:54,695 --> 00:08:57,174 Any any final key takeaways you'd like to 227 00:08:57,174 --> 00:08:58,075 share with them? 228 00:08:59,014 --> 00:08:59,894 I think for the, 229 00:09:00,455 --> 00:09:02,475 our competitors, the health care executives, 230 00:09:02,855 --> 00:09:05,370 you know, it's listen listen to your your 231 00:09:05,370 --> 00:09:07,070 patients, your seniors. And, 232 00:09:08,970 --> 00:09:11,870 you know, one, I I welcome the competition 233 00:09:11,929 --> 00:09:14,490 and challenge because I I think that we 234 00:09:14,490 --> 00:09:16,169 all need to do better. We all need 235 00:09:16,169 --> 00:09:17,850 to get better. We we need to think 236 00:09:17,850 --> 00:09:19,950 about the social barriers. It's, 237 00:09:20,384 --> 00:09:20,884 again, 238 00:09:22,065 --> 00:09:24,865 it's not your common medical conditions. It's these 239 00:09:24,865 --> 00:09:27,585 complex social issues. It's it's it's sad to 240 00:09:27,585 --> 00:09:28,404 think about, 241 00:09:28,865 --> 00:09:32,225 you know, things like food insecurity where, again, 242 00:09:32,225 --> 00:09:34,404 seniors have to think about, do I 243 00:09:34,959 --> 00:09:37,539 pick up my medications and have that $5 244 00:09:37,679 --> 00:09:40,019 co pay, which may seem in insignificant 245 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:43,200 to us, but that's that's the difference between 246 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:44,179 eating dinner 247 00:09:44,559 --> 00:09:47,620 versus, you know, getting the getting the, medication. 248 00:09:47,759 --> 00:09:50,115 Right? So I think most people would probably 249 00:09:50,115 --> 00:09:52,774 say I'd like to eat. And so, 250 00:09:53,955 --> 00:09:55,975 you know, so really listening to seniors, 251 00:09:56,595 --> 00:10:00,214 really understanding what barriers they they truly have. 252 00:10:00,434 --> 00:10:01,634 And then I think for the 253 00:10:02,420 --> 00:10:03,320 for all of us, 254 00:10:03,779 --> 00:10:05,540 outside the medical community, it's, 255 00:10:06,660 --> 00:10:08,019 we we need to take care of our 256 00:10:08,019 --> 00:10:10,120 seniors. You know, I think about my grandparents, 257 00:10:10,340 --> 00:10:11,080 my parents, 258 00:10:11,700 --> 00:10:13,540 our loved ones. We we just need to 259 00:10:13,540 --> 00:10:14,680 do a better job, 260 00:10:16,064 --> 00:10:18,004 taking care of them. This is the fastest, 261 00:10:19,345 --> 00:10:20,884 population growing population, 262 00:10:22,225 --> 00:10:24,544 that we have, the 65 and older. So 263 00:10:24,544 --> 00:10:26,304 it'll continue to grow. We need to take 264 00:10:26,304 --> 00:10:27,125 care of them. 265 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:29,839 They shouldn't end up in the hospital. They 266 00:10:29,839 --> 00:10:32,399 shouldn't end up passing away because they can't 267 00:10:32,399 --> 00:10:33,799 afford to eat or they can't 268 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:35,539 they don't have the transportation 269 00:10:35,919 --> 00:10:37,679 to to see their doctor or make their 270 00:10:37,679 --> 00:10:38,899 appointments. So 271 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:41,059 that would be my takeaway from, 272 00:10:42,254 --> 00:10:43,555 from this report. 273 00:10:44,975 --> 00:10:47,535 Wonderful. Well, really great insights. I think that's 274 00:10:47,535 --> 00:10:49,315 a great place to leave things. 275 00:10:49,615 --> 00:10:51,695 Doctor Kim, thank you so much for for 276 00:10:51,695 --> 00:10:53,455 taking the time to be with us and 277 00:10:53,455 --> 00:10:55,934 for sharing your insights with our listeners. We 278 00:10:55,934 --> 00:10:57,075 really appreciate it. 279 00:10:57,909 --> 00:10:59,450 Oh, thank you, Jacob. Happy. 280 00:10:59,990 --> 00:11:02,149 If you'd like to listen to more podcasts 281 00:11:02,149 --> 00:11:04,870 from Becker's Healthcare, you can visit Becker's hospital 282 00:11:04,870 --> 00:11:05,370 review.com.