1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,899 Evernorth brings the power of wonder and relentless 2 00:00:02,960 --> 00:00:05,919 innovation to create world class pharmacy care and 3 00:00:05,919 --> 00:00:09,199 benefit solutions. Our connected health services make the 4 00:00:09,199 --> 00:00:12,160 treatment, prediction, and prevention of health care's most 5 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:13,139 complex conditions 6 00:00:13,605 --> 00:00:16,344 easier and more accessible as we drive organizations 7 00:00:16,644 --> 00:00:19,524 and people forward. Ever North home based care 8 00:00:19,524 --> 00:00:22,004 provides value based care that helps patients with 9 00:00:22,004 --> 00:00:23,384 multiple chronic conditions 10 00:00:23,844 --> 00:00:26,085 and social determinant of health barriers get the 11 00:00:26,085 --> 00:00:28,884 care they need and the personalized experience they 12 00:00:28,884 --> 00:00:31,660 deserve. We serve patients who struggle to navigate 13 00:00:31,660 --> 00:00:34,060 the health care system by bringing high quality 14 00:00:34,060 --> 00:00:34,560 primary 15 00:00:35,020 --> 00:00:37,739 and preventative care services to the home. By 16 00:00:37,739 --> 00:00:40,700 providing clinical care and support services that provide 17 00:00:40,700 --> 00:00:44,185 whole person care, we improve health equity, access, 18 00:00:44,185 --> 00:00:46,605 and outcomes for the populations we serve. 19 00:00:47,785 --> 00:00:49,784 This is Gracelyn Keller with the Becker's Health 20 00:00:49,784 --> 00:00:51,704 Care podcast, and we are recording live at 21 00:00:51,704 --> 00:00:53,885 the 2024 payer issues roundtable. 22 00:00:54,350 --> 00:00:56,510 I'm currently joined by Jordan Taggart, who is 23 00:00:56,510 --> 00:00:58,750 the senior vice president of payer and PBM 24 00:00:58,750 --> 00:01:01,310 growth at Vida Health. So, Jordan, thank you 25 00:01:01,310 --> 00:01:02,990 for being here today. We'd love to have 26 00:01:02,990 --> 00:01:05,069 you start by introducing yourself and telling us 27 00:01:05,069 --> 00:01:07,055 a little bit more about your role. Great. 28 00:01:07,055 --> 00:01:08,754 Yeah. Thanks so much for having me. 29 00:01:09,055 --> 00:01:10,974 As you said, I lead all of our 30 00:01:10,974 --> 00:01:13,715 growth initiatives for health plans, PBMs, 31 00:01:14,254 --> 00:01:14,754 TPAs, 32 00:01:15,295 --> 00:01:17,055 and really kind of that whole area of 33 00:01:17,055 --> 00:01:19,795 the market. I'm really focused on developing partnerships 34 00:01:20,094 --> 00:01:22,290 that we can build together with with those 35 00:01:22,290 --> 00:01:23,670 organizations that bring 36 00:01:23,969 --> 00:01:27,409 Vida solution out to self insured employers, to 37 00:01:27,409 --> 00:01:28,469 Medicare members, 38 00:01:29,250 --> 00:01:31,009 and really, you know, serve all lines of 39 00:01:31,009 --> 00:01:33,170 business. What we do at Vida is, we 40 00:01:33,170 --> 00:01:34,034 provide a 41 00:01:34,435 --> 00:01:35,415 virtual cardiometabolic 42 00:01:35,795 --> 00:01:38,755 clinic solution that really focuses on helping members 43 00:01:38,755 --> 00:01:40,534 manage their diabetes and obesity, 44 00:01:40,835 --> 00:01:43,015 but really importantly, addressing the 45 00:01:43,395 --> 00:01:43,895 numerous 46 00:01:44,195 --> 00:01:46,915 other co occurring chronic conditions and mental health 47 00:01:46,915 --> 00:01:47,734 that usually 48 00:01:48,390 --> 00:01:50,870 occur, when members are struggling with those types 49 00:01:50,870 --> 00:01:53,750 of challenges. So really comprehensive model that we 50 00:01:53,750 --> 00:01:56,569 deploy in partnership with health plans and PBMs 51 00:01:57,030 --> 00:01:57,930 across the country. 52 00:01:58,630 --> 00:02:01,189 Alright. So let's start our conversation today talking 53 00:02:01,189 --> 00:02:04,275 about growth goals. So from improving member experience 54 00:02:04,275 --> 00:02:07,254 and expanding value based care to controlling costs, 55 00:02:07,555 --> 00:02:10,354 payer executives have ambitious growth goals for the 56 00:02:10,354 --> 00:02:12,775 rest of this year and looking into 2025. 57 00:02:13,634 --> 00:02:15,235 So in your role, what is your top 58 00:02:15,235 --> 00:02:17,074 priority, and how are you planning to get 59 00:02:17,074 --> 00:02:17,574 there? 60 00:02:19,319 --> 00:02:20,039 Yeah. Growth, 61 00:02:20,599 --> 00:02:22,280 in my title is definitely what I wake 62 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:23,979 up thinking about every single day. 63 00:02:24,519 --> 00:02:25,019 And 64 00:02:25,319 --> 00:02:27,639 I think we're we're all focused on growth, 65 00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:29,639 but I think the the big thing that 66 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:31,019 we're focused on at VIDA 67 00:02:31,384 --> 00:02:33,625 is growth with partners that really align with 68 00:02:33,625 --> 00:02:35,004 our clinical philosophy, 69 00:02:36,025 --> 00:02:39,144 and those that really think about managing conditions 70 00:02:39,144 --> 00:02:39,644 holistically. 71 00:02:40,905 --> 00:02:43,144 Our approach has has always been on really 72 00:02:43,144 --> 00:02:45,879 growing populations, but really targeting the right populations 73 00:02:45,879 --> 00:02:46,379 that 74 00:02:46,759 --> 00:02:47,500 are appropriate, 75 00:02:48,439 --> 00:02:50,280 for care. And so the way we think 76 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:52,139 about growth is really prioritization 77 00:02:52,439 --> 00:02:54,680 around finding those partners, whether they be self 78 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:57,340 insured employers, health plans, PBMs, and others, 79 00:02:57,995 --> 00:03:00,955 And really putting together the pieces of how 80 00:03:00,955 --> 00:03:02,495 all those parties work together. 81 00:03:03,115 --> 00:03:05,034 So our priorities are really on, again, the 82 00:03:05,034 --> 00:03:06,175 coordination and integration 83 00:03:06,955 --> 00:03:08,655 of all those large enterprises 84 00:03:08,955 --> 00:03:11,055 that, in the end, serve the member. 85 00:03:11,550 --> 00:03:13,230 And oftentimes, it can be really confusing for 86 00:03:13,230 --> 00:03:14,210 a member to navigate, 87 00:03:14,830 --> 00:03:17,150 particularly in the space that we're in, which 88 00:03:17,150 --> 00:03:19,090 is, you know, diabetes and obesity. 89 00:03:20,270 --> 00:03:22,370 And going off of that, at an industry 90 00:03:22,430 --> 00:03:25,194 level, how would you describe the biggest barriers 91 00:03:25,254 --> 00:03:27,594 to effectively serving and engaging members? 92 00:03:27,974 --> 00:03:28,715 What opportunities 93 00:03:29,014 --> 00:03:30,854 do you see for large scale improvements, and 94 00:03:30,854 --> 00:03:32,534 how are you applying this in your current 95 00:03:32,534 --> 00:03:33,034 strategy? 96 00:03:34,134 --> 00:03:35,655 Yeah. A a couple big ones that come 97 00:03:35,655 --> 00:03:37,610 to mind. You mentioned value based care. 98 00:03:37,990 --> 00:03:39,669 Value based care is where I've spent most 99 00:03:39,669 --> 00:03:41,990 of my career in some form or fashion, 100 00:03:41,990 --> 00:03:43,830 either on the provider side, on the health 101 00:03:43,830 --> 00:03:46,389 plan side, from the solution side, thinking about 102 00:03:46,389 --> 00:03:47,289 different ways 103 00:03:47,669 --> 00:03:50,169 to achieve the promise of value based care. 104 00:03:50,795 --> 00:03:52,474 And I think some of the challenges we 105 00:03:52,474 --> 00:03:53,694 continue to run into 106 00:03:54,075 --> 00:03:56,474 is the siloed nature with which a lot 107 00:03:56,474 --> 00:03:58,235 of us approach that problem and a lot 108 00:03:58,235 --> 00:03:59,935 of the industry approaches that problem. 109 00:04:01,115 --> 00:04:03,750 It's really important, again, when you think about 110 00:04:03,990 --> 00:04:06,629 the member and really actually driving down costs 111 00:04:06,629 --> 00:04:08,169 while improving clinical care, 112 00:04:08,789 --> 00:04:10,550 which is, again, the promise of value based 113 00:04:10,550 --> 00:04:12,169 care is putting together 114 00:04:12,710 --> 00:04:15,270 the coordination of all these organizations that need 115 00:04:15,270 --> 00:04:16,169 to work cohesively. 116 00:04:16,470 --> 00:04:17,769 So for us, that means, 117 00:04:18,205 --> 00:04:20,625 again, the employer who's providing a benefit, 118 00:04:21,004 --> 00:04:24,365 for obesity, for example, covering GLP ones for 119 00:04:24,365 --> 00:04:25,985 the management of of obesity 120 00:04:26,764 --> 00:04:29,404 in place, and then looking to their health 121 00:04:29,404 --> 00:04:31,899 plan, their PBM, and then a solution like 122 00:04:31,899 --> 00:04:33,919 VITA to exchange data, 123 00:04:34,300 --> 00:04:36,720 to make to coordinate care with the existing 124 00:04:36,779 --> 00:04:38,879 provider network, to make sure that, 125 00:04:39,740 --> 00:04:42,139 really, you can look at the value of 126 00:04:42,139 --> 00:04:43,040 of the solution. 127 00:04:43,819 --> 00:04:44,319 And 128 00:04:44,754 --> 00:04:45,495 that coordination 129 00:04:45,795 --> 00:04:47,975 tends to be a challenge, particularly with organizations 130 00:04:48,035 --> 00:04:49,634 that all move at different paces and have 131 00:04:49,634 --> 00:04:50,375 different priorities. 132 00:04:52,035 --> 00:04:54,535 And shifting gears to health equity. 133 00:04:55,074 --> 00:04:58,035 As health equity becomes increasingly cemented in payer 134 00:04:58,035 --> 00:04:58,535 strategies, 135 00:04:59,089 --> 00:05:01,970 how is your organization addressing health disparities? And 136 00:05:01,970 --> 00:05:04,770 can you share examples of measurable successes to 137 00:05:04,770 --> 00:05:05,270 date? 138 00:05:06,129 --> 00:05:08,210 Yeah. Thanks for asking. Health equity is a 139 00:05:08,210 --> 00:05:10,529 big part of how we think and about 140 00:05:10,529 --> 00:05:12,210 our clinical model and the way we've designed 141 00:05:12,210 --> 00:05:12,710 it. 142 00:05:13,064 --> 00:05:16,185 VIDA was really created to address a multitude 143 00:05:16,185 --> 00:05:17,324 of complex conditions. 144 00:05:18,185 --> 00:05:20,585 And in doing that and serving such a 145 00:05:20,585 --> 00:05:21,404 broad population 146 00:05:21,705 --> 00:05:24,345 of people that come to us in different 147 00:05:24,345 --> 00:05:25,805 places in their health journey, 148 00:05:26,639 --> 00:05:28,800 Some looking to just lose a couple pounds 149 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:31,519 and some that suffer from a multitude of 150 00:05:31,519 --> 00:05:35,120 of conditions and anxiety and depression and are 151 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:37,199 not getting the care that they need from 152 00:05:37,199 --> 00:05:37,939 their existing 153 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:39,060 network. 154 00:05:39,925 --> 00:05:41,545 And so the way we think about HealthEquity 155 00:05:41,685 --> 00:05:44,245 is not deploying a singular intervention or a 156 00:05:44,245 --> 00:05:46,345 single solution, a one size fits all, 157 00:05:46,645 --> 00:05:50,004 but really personalizing the treatment plan around where 158 00:05:50,004 --> 00:05:52,230 the member's ready to start. And some of 159 00:05:52,230 --> 00:05:53,990 some people are not ready to think about 160 00:05:53,990 --> 00:05:56,089 changing their diet or nutrition 161 00:05:56,389 --> 00:05:58,490 without addressing the anxiety that occurs 162 00:05:58,949 --> 00:06:00,870 because of the the challenges that they have 163 00:06:00,870 --> 00:06:02,470 on a day to day basis because of 164 00:06:02,470 --> 00:06:03,930 some of those conditions. So 165 00:06:04,310 --> 00:06:05,850 our approach is really around 166 00:06:06,175 --> 00:06:08,095 personalization. An example of that would be we 167 00:06:08,095 --> 00:06:09,074 have 25 168 00:06:10,014 --> 00:06:12,675 plus customized meal plans for different cultures. 169 00:06:13,055 --> 00:06:15,535 We have completely localized our experience in our 170 00:06:15,535 --> 00:06:17,875 provider network to be available in Spanish 171 00:06:18,254 --> 00:06:18,915 for different 172 00:06:19,470 --> 00:06:19,970 cultures, 173 00:06:20,910 --> 00:06:23,310 and we measure this. Right? We we recently 174 00:06:23,310 --> 00:06:25,250 did a study that looked at 175 00:06:25,709 --> 00:06:26,769 2 different populations 176 00:06:27,229 --> 00:06:28,449 in the Medicare space, 177 00:06:28,990 --> 00:06:31,550 one that was an underserved population with limited 178 00:06:31,550 --> 00:06:32,289 food access 179 00:06:33,165 --> 00:06:35,345 in a rural area and a population, 180 00:06:35,884 --> 00:06:38,524 an urban population and looked at differences in 181 00:06:38,524 --> 00:06:40,144 a one c reduction and outcomes, 182 00:06:40,845 --> 00:06:41,985 we had the same outcomes. 183 00:06:42,285 --> 00:06:44,444 So there really are no disparities in the 184 00:06:44,444 --> 00:06:46,444 clinical model that VIDA delivers based on that 185 00:06:46,444 --> 00:06:48,480 study. And we really take that to heart 186 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:50,740 in trying to make sure that we can 187 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:53,759 adjust our model of care and really our 188 00:06:53,759 --> 00:06:56,000 solution to meet a member's needs that's ready 189 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:58,399 to engage and not turn them away because 190 00:06:58,399 --> 00:06:59,839 we don't have an option for them to 191 00:06:59,839 --> 00:07:00,339 use. 192 00:07:01,884 --> 00:07:03,664 And as we wrap our conversation 193 00:07:03,964 --> 00:07:06,384 today, I'd love to get 194 00:07:06,685 --> 00:07:08,685 some advice that you would like to give 195 00:07:08,685 --> 00:07:11,084 to maybe peer leaders who are looking to 196 00:07:11,084 --> 00:07:13,404 grow their businesses while keeping members top of 197 00:07:13,404 --> 00:07:13,904 mind. 198 00:07:15,569 --> 00:07:16,069 Yeah. 199 00:07:17,089 --> 00:07:19,009 It's maybe 2 things that I've gotten from 200 00:07:19,009 --> 00:07:20,709 some mentors in the past. 201 00:07:22,129 --> 00:07:22,949 One is 202 00:07:23,409 --> 00:07:23,909 in 203 00:07:24,849 --> 00:07:26,930 growth is a big growth value based care, 204 00:07:26,930 --> 00:07:29,729 big themes of of of this conference and 205 00:07:29,729 --> 00:07:30,134 of this 206 00:07:30,694 --> 00:07:31,194 conversation. 207 00:07:31,654 --> 00:07:32,795 I think one is 208 00:07:34,455 --> 00:07:37,254 to make the hard decisions about what not 209 00:07:37,254 --> 00:07:38,314 to do. And 210 00:07:39,254 --> 00:07:40,615 I know a lot of people say that, 211 00:07:40,615 --> 00:07:42,935 but it's really hard, particularly in a growing 212 00:07:42,935 --> 00:07:43,435 organization, 213 00:07:43,895 --> 00:07:44,875 a small organization, 214 00:07:45,910 --> 00:07:48,069 but big organizations too, to to make those 215 00:07:48,069 --> 00:07:49,750 choices. It's easy easy to chase a lot 216 00:07:49,750 --> 00:07:51,350 of things, but they can that can often 217 00:07:51,350 --> 00:07:53,589 be distractions from just focusing on the core 218 00:07:53,589 --> 00:07:55,930 business and getting really good at that. 219 00:07:56,310 --> 00:07:58,069 So I think one is making sure to 220 00:07:58,069 --> 00:08:00,089 make hard decisions about what not to do, 221 00:08:00,225 --> 00:08:01,764 And the other is to just be patient. 222 00:08:02,384 --> 00:08:03,985 You know, most of my days are spent 223 00:08:03,985 --> 00:08:06,245 with, you know, Fortune 50 organizations, 224 00:08:06,705 --> 00:08:08,564 and everyone has different priorities. 225 00:08:09,024 --> 00:08:10,404 So you have to really recognize 226 00:08:10,785 --> 00:08:13,500 that the people that you're engaging with might 227 00:08:13,500 --> 00:08:14,900 not have the same kind of day to 228 00:08:14,900 --> 00:08:17,379 day priorities as you. And it's really important 229 00:08:17,379 --> 00:08:18,920 to just, I think, be patient 230 00:08:19,379 --> 00:08:20,120 and understand, 231 00:08:21,139 --> 00:08:23,139 where other people are focused to make sure 232 00:08:23,139 --> 00:08:24,819 that you're meeting their needs and and not 233 00:08:24,819 --> 00:08:26,520 focusing so much on your own. 234 00:08:27,194 --> 00:08:29,355 Wonderful. Well, Jordan, thanks so much for joining 235 00:08:29,355 --> 00:08:31,915 today on the Becker's Healthcare podcast. Again, we're 236 00:08:31,915 --> 00:08:34,815 recording live at the 2024 payer issues roundtable. 237 00:08:35,274 --> 00:08:36,479 Thanks for having me.