1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,960 Welcome everyone to the Becker's Healthcare podcast series. 2 00:00:02,960 --> 00:00:05,679 I'm Mariah Muhammad, writer and moderator with Becker's 3 00:00:05,679 --> 00:00:07,519 Healthcare. And I'm thrilled to have with me 4 00:00:07,519 --> 00:00:10,719 today, Pleasant Radford junior, health equity officer at 5 00:00:10,719 --> 00:00:11,219 UCare. 6 00:00:11,519 --> 00:00:13,679 Pleasant, welcome to the podcast. We're very excited 7 00:00:13,679 --> 00:00:15,414 to have you join us today. To get 8 00:00:15,414 --> 00:00:17,414 us started, would you mind please introducing yourself 9 00:00:17,414 --> 00:00:19,274 and telling us a bit about your background? 10 00:00:19,975 --> 00:00:20,475 Absolutely. 11 00:00:20,935 --> 00:00:23,654 My name is Pleasant Raffer junior, and I 12 00:00:23,654 --> 00:00:24,154 am 13 00:00:24,695 --> 00:00:27,355 the health equity officer at UCare. 14 00:00:27,769 --> 00:00:30,730 I've been at UCare for over 4 years 15 00:00:30,730 --> 00:00:32,109 now in this capacity, 16 00:00:32,810 --> 00:00:34,829 and and my job is to 17 00:00:35,210 --> 00:00:38,429 find ways to advance health equity for 18 00:00:38,969 --> 00:00:40,270 the more than 600,000 19 00:00:41,049 --> 00:00:42,429 members that we serve 20 00:00:42,965 --> 00:00:46,024 in the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin. 21 00:00:47,684 --> 00:00:50,564 Outside of of work, I I live in 22 00:00:50,564 --> 00:00:51,064 Minneapolis 23 00:00:51,765 --> 00:00:54,024 with my wife and and 2 children 24 00:00:54,405 --> 00:00:54,905 and 25 00:00:55,284 --> 00:00:56,744 love spending time outdoors, 26 00:00:57,204 --> 00:00:57,704 cooking, 27 00:00:58,679 --> 00:00:59,179 biking, 28 00:01:00,039 --> 00:01:00,939 watching movies, 29 00:01:01,719 --> 00:01:03,799 all that fun stuff when I have the 30 00:01:03,799 --> 00:01:05,259 opportunity to do that. 31 00:01:06,759 --> 00:01:08,680 Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Thank you so much for 32 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:09,819 giving us that background. 33 00:01:11,034 --> 00:01:13,615 So health equity is obviously a big trend, 34 00:01:14,075 --> 00:01:16,155 and just a focal point for a lot 35 00:01:16,155 --> 00:01:17,215 of health care organizations. 36 00:01:17,834 --> 00:01:19,515 What are some of the biggest trends and 37 00:01:19,515 --> 00:01:22,314 headwinds you're following right now, that will lead 38 00:01:22,314 --> 00:01:23,534 you into the new year? 39 00:01:24,650 --> 00:01:27,129 Absolutely. The the first thing that comes to 40 00:01:27,129 --> 00:01:28,349 mind is trust. 41 00:01:28,969 --> 00:01:30,909 The American people have 42 00:01:31,290 --> 00:01:31,790 been 43 00:01:32,650 --> 00:01:34,730 very frustrated with the current state of the 44 00:01:34,730 --> 00:01:37,689 health care industry, and I think it has 45 00:01:37,689 --> 00:01:38,909 reached an apex 46 00:01:39,555 --> 00:01:42,754 with the the untimely death of the former 47 00:01:42,754 --> 00:01:43,254 UnitedHealthcare 48 00:01:43,634 --> 00:01:45,174 CEO, Brian Thompson. 49 00:01:45,875 --> 00:01:47,094 It's just a reminder 50 00:01:47,715 --> 00:01:48,215 that 51 00:01:49,075 --> 00:01:51,575 changes are urgently needed to reform 52 00:01:51,875 --> 00:01:53,015 systemic practices 53 00:01:53,474 --> 00:01:54,694 and restore trust 54 00:01:55,210 --> 00:01:58,010 and improve health overall. And and that's gonna 55 00:01:58,010 --> 00:01:58,510 require 56 00:01:58,969 --> 00:02:00,030 a lot of collaboration 57 00:02:00,730 --> 00:02:04,409 and a lot of policy change to make 58 00:02:04,409 --> 00:02:08,250 sure that we are really reforming the the 59 00:02:08,250 --> 00:02:10,189 current state of our health care industry. 60 00:02:11,504 --> 00:02:12,004 Medicaid, 61 00:02:12,305 --> 00:02:14,864 that continues to be a a trend that 62 00:02:14,864 --> 00:02:16,004 I'm I'm following, 63 00:02:16,544 --> 00:02:19,264 especially as we look at the the new 64 00:02:19,264 --> 00:02:19,764 administration 65 00:02:20,224 --> 00:02:22,564 that will start on January 20th. 66 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:24,579 There have been discussions 67 00:02:24,959 --> 00:02:25,459 to 68 00:02:26,079 --> 00:02:26,819 slash Medicaid, 69 00:02:27,599 --> 00:02:30,579 and and that has a a deep impact 70 00:02:30,879 --> 00:02:33,199 at a federal level, but also at a 71 00:02:33,199 --> 00:02:34,099 state level 72 00:02:34,639 --> 00:02:37,459 as many states use those federal dollars 73 00:02:37,965 --> 00:02:39,504 for their their populations, 74 00:02:40,365 --> 00:02:41,985 their their Medicaid populations, 75 00:02:42,925 --> 00:02:43,585 and Medicare. 76 00:02:44,125 --> 00:02:47,004 And and so if state budgets are are 77 00:02:47,004 --> 00:02:47,504 smaller, 78 00:02:48,125 --> 00:02:51,105 then this will force health officials and state 79 00:02:51,165 --> 00:02:53,344 leaders to make difficult decisions 80 00:02:54,020 --> 00:02:56,199 related to their their residents' 81 00:02:56,659 --> 00:02:58,519 health care, and it will 82 00:02:58,819 --> 00:02:59,319 unfortunately 83 00:02:59,699 --> 00:03:01,800 put those vulnerable populations 84 00:03:02,979 --> 00:03:05,080 at a higher risk of of vulnerability. 85 00:03:06,019 --> 00:03:08,919 And so that's another trend that I'm following. 86 00:03:09,885 --> 00:03:13,264 AI, artificial intelligence, continues to transform 87 00:03:13,645 --> 00:03:14,625 health care delivery 88 00:03:15,165 --> 00:03:15,985 and experience. 89 00:03:16,444 --> 00:03:18,145 And as I said before, 90 00:03:18,764 --> 00:03:19,585 if budgets 91 00:03:19,885 --> 00:03:20,705 are cut 92 00:03:21,085 --> 00:03:22,465 at a state level, 93 00:03:23,004 --> 00:03:23,504 then 94 00:03:24,205 --> 00:03:25,504 many of these states 95 00:03:25,849 --> 00:03:29,150 may start or continue to use AI 96 00:03:29,610 --> 00:03:31,069 to automate their processes. 97 00:03:31,530 --> 00:03:32,990 And and that could 98 00:03:33,370 --> 00:03:34,590 potentially perpetuate 99 00:03:34,969 --> 00:03:35,789 or exacerbate 100 00:03:36,169 --> 00:03:38,650 some of these health care disparities that we 101 00:03:38,650 --> 00:03:40,270 continue to work on. 102 00:03:41,075 --> 00:03:42,935 And it can lead to, 103 00:03:43,875 --> 00:03:46,455 it could lead to to to even more 104 00:03:46,514 --> 00:03:48,534 more problems, administrative problems, 105 00:03:49,075 --> 00:03:49,895 poor health, 106 00:03:50,275 --> 00:03:51,575 and and more dissatisfaction 107 00:03:52,275 --> 00:03:54,055 with the the health care industry. 108 00:03:54,930 --> 00:03:56,389 And finally, aging. 109 00:03:57,010 --> 00:03:58,469 As we know, the country's 110 00:03:58,770 --> 00:03:59,830 aging population 111 00:04:00,290 --> 00:04:01,349 continues to grow. 112 00:04:01,729 --> 00:04:02,229 And 113 00:04:03,090 --> 00:04:06,210 last stat that I read recently shared that 114 00:04:06,210 --> 00:04:06,710 30% 115 00:04:07,169 --> 00:04:08,229 of the $600,000,000,000 116 00:04:10,814 --> 00:04:12,675 spent on Medicaid is allocated 117 00:04:12,974 --> 00:04:14,754 to long term services 118 00:04:15,055 --> 00:04:15,795 and support. 119 00:04:16,335 --> 00:04:17,634 And so once again, 120 00:04:18,014 --> 00:04:19,395 if we see 121 00:04:20,495 --> 00:04:20,995 smaller 122 00:04:21,455 --> 00:04:23,154 funds being allocated 123 00:04:23,779 --> 00:04:26,180 at a federal level and it trickles down 124 00:04:26,180 --> 00:04:27,720 to the state level, 125 00:04:28,180 --> 00:04:28,680 then 126 00:04:29,379 --> 00:04:32,840 the home care industry will will be disproportionately 127 00:04:33,460 --> 00:04:33,960 impacted. 128 00:04:34,580 --> 00:04:37,300 And the direct care workers that provide the 129 00:04:37,300 --> 00:04:38,199 care for 130 00:04:38,795 --> 00:04:41,935 our our disabled population or elderly population, 131 00:04:43,115 --> 00:04:46,254 they they will also be impacted as well. 132 00:04:47,675 --> 00:04:50,314 Yeah. Definitely. I I definitely hope that the 133 00:04:50,314 --> 00:04:51,375 Medicare, Medicaid, 134 00:04:51,675 --> 00:04:53,274 everything does not get cut at all for 135 00:04:53,274 --> 00:04:54,389 any of the 50 states, 136 00:04:54,949 --> 00:04:57,270 especially when we discuss the elderly and aging 137 00:04:57,270 --> 00:04:57,770 population, 138 00:04:58,710 --> 00:05:00,569 and obviously what they need to survive. 139 00:05:01,270 --> 00:05:03,509 How are you thinking about growth for the 140 00:05:03,509 --> 00:05:06,629 future? Are there any programs or initiatives that 141 00:05:06,629 --> 00:05:07,129 you're, 142 00:05:07,430 --> 00:05:09,930 kind of focused on growing in your organization? 143 00:05:11,324 --> 00:05:11,824 Absolutely. 144 00:05:12,925 --> 00:05:14,144 For me, personally, 145 00:05:14,524 --> 00:05:15,985 we continue to 146 00:05:16,365 --> 00:05:17,185 find ways 147 00:05:18,444 --> 00:05:21,425 to deepen our engagement within our community. 148 00:05:22,044 --> 00:05:23,949 It's so important to to understand 149 00:05:24,330 --> 00:05:27,709 what are the the issues that continue to 150 00:05:28,649 --> 00:05:30,910 challenge our members and 151 00:05:31,290 --> 00:05:34,189 and more importantly, how can we work together? 152 00:05:34,250 --> 00:05:36,764 How can we foster meaningful interactions? 153 00:05:37,464 --> 00:05:40,044 How can we continue to solicit that feedback 154 00:05:40,745 --> 00:05:43,404 to cocreate products and initiatives? 155 00:05:44,104 --> 00:05:47,384 As I said before, trust continues to be 156 00:05:47,384 --> 00:05:47,884 a 157 00:05:48,729 --> 00:05:50,729 a a sore point within the health care 158 00:05:50,729 --> 00:05:51,229 industry. 159 00:05:51,930 --> 00:05:53,870 And one way to 160 00:05:54,250 --> 00:05:56,729 to to change that is to continue to 161 00:05:56,729 --> 00:05:58,189 engage with our 162 00:05:58,490 --> 00:05:59,789 with our our members, 163 00:06:00,985 --> 00:06:03,165 to understand what are those sore points 164 00:06:03,545 --> 00:06:06,425 and how can we change them together and 165 00:06:06,425 --> 00:06:08,444 how can we evaluate progress 166 00:06:09,305 --> 00:06:11,805 and and work together. So customer 167 00:06:12,665 --> 00:06:14,524 community engagement, retention, 168 00:06:14,824 --> 00:06:15,564 and satisfaction 169 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:18,960 are are some of the areas that I'm 170 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:20,899 focused on related to growth. 171 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:24,480 Thank you for sharing those. Is is there 172 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:26,500 a project or initiative from, 173 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:29,360 this year or maybe the previous year that 174 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:31,460 yielded the best results for you? 175 00:06:32,694 --> 00:06:33,194 Absolutely. 176 00:06:33,975 --> 00:06:35,355 We continue to 177 00:06:36,215 --> 00:06:36,715 strengthen 178 00:06:37,175 --> 00:06:40,775 the data collection around sexual orientation and gender 179 00:06:40,775 --> 00:06:41,275 identity. 180 00:06:42,055 --> 00:06:44,475 This has been a multiyear effort 181 00:06:44,935 --> 00:06:47,275 that began in 2020 182 00:06:47,980 --> 00:06:49,279 one, I wanna say, 183 00:06:49,580 --> 00:06:51,520 when we reached out to community, 184 00:06:52,060 --> 00:06:52,960 the LGBTQIA 185 00:06:53,740 --> 00:06:55,360 plus community, to understand 186 00:06:56,300 --> 00:06:59,500 how can we make sure that we collect 187 00:06:59,500 --> 00:07:00,160 the data 188 00:07:00,824 --> 00:07:03,384 that you want us to so that you're 189 00:07:03,384 --> 00:07:03,884 seen? 190 00:07:04,345 --> 00:07:06,285 And so through that collaboration, 191 00:07:06,664 --> 00:07:08,604 we were able to create 192 00:07:08,985 --> 00:07:10,365 4 basic questions 193 00:07:10,985 --> 00:07:12,764 related to gender identity, 194 00:07:13,224 --> 00:07:13,724 pronouns, 195 00:07:14,789 --> 00:07:15,529 sexual orientation, 196 00:07:16,229 --> 00:07:17,769 and and sex at birth. 197 00:07:18,149 --> 00:07:19,849 And we've added those questions 198 00:07:20,310 --> 00:07:22,729 into our health risk assessment forms. 199 00:07:23,430 --> 00:07:23,930 And 200 00:07:24,389 --> 00:07:27,050 as of now, we've collected more than 53,000 201 00:07:27,750 --> 00:07:28,250 responses 202 00:07:29,104 --> 00:07:30,004 from our members. 203 00:07:30,785 --> 00:07:34,165 It's small compared to the more than 600,000 204 00:07:34,865 --> 00:07:36,245 members that we serve, 205 00:07:36,704 --> 00:07:38,725 but it's a step in the right direction. 206 00:07:38,865 --> 00:07:41,524 And and we're excited about that because 207 00:07:42,319 --> 00:07:44,339 it's we're now able to 208 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:45,220 operationalize 209 00:07:45,759 --> 00:07:48,019 that data to improve operations. 210 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:51,620 For example, we can now work with marketing 211 00:07:51,839 --> 00:07:52,339 to 212 00:07:52,879 --> 00:07:55,060 to tailor our marketing communications 213 00:07:55,439 --> 00:07:58,224 that reflect what's important to the LGBTQIA 214 00:07:59,084 --> 00:07:59,584 plus 215 00:07:59,964 --> 00:08:00,464 population. 216 00:08:01,164 --> 00:08:03,004 We wanna make sure we're using the right 217 00:08:03,004 --> 00:08:06,224 pronouns, that we're using images that reflect 218 00:08:06,844 --> 00:08:08,944 who they are and their health needs. 219 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:12,139 We can work more with the the quality 220 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:13,740 department to design, 221 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:15,660 interventions 222 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:19,639 and initiatives that that meet the needs of 223 00:08:19,639 --> 00:08:20,620 of our population. 224 00:08:21,319 --> 00:08:23,020 We can continue to work with 225 00:08:23,345 --> 00:08:25,204 customer service, for example, 226 00:08:25,584 --> 00:08:28,165 or our provider network to understand, 227 00:08:28,625 --> 00:08:30,964 do we have the providers that 228 00:08:31,425 --> 00:08:31,904 are, 229 00:08:32,784 --> 00:08:35,284 that are from the community, in the community 230 00:08:35,504 --> 00:08:37,679 to meet the needs of our of our 231 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:40,740 population. And so we're we're excited. We're excited 232 00:08:40,799 --> 00:08:41,299 that 233 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:44,259 we have what we have. We'll continue to 234 00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:47,379 to gather more data in 2025. 235 00:08:48,559 --> 00:08:50,100 And, also, we wanna 236 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:51,620 make sure that 237 00:08:52,294 --> 00:08:54,235 our our staff are trained 238 00:08:54,774 --> 00:08:57,334 on how to use the data, how to 239 00:08:57,334 --> 00:09:00,235 work with our members by using the correct, 240 00:09:01,894 --> 00:09:02,394 pronouns 241 00:09:02,934 --> 00:09:04,315 and addressing them. 242 00:09:04,820 --> 00:09:07,399 So we're we're super excited about that. 243 00:09:08,980 --> 00:09:10,120 Yeah. Those are definitely, 244 00:09:10,580 --> 00:09:11,799 things that I think, 245 00:09:12,179 --> 00:09:14,120 also sound exciting to me. 246 00:09:14,580 --> 00:09:16,659 It sounds like a great step forward into 247 00:09:16,659 --> 00:09:18,634 the right direction. So thank you so much 248 00:09:18,634 --> 00:09:20,475 for sharing all of those thoughts, Pleasant. This 249 00:09:20,475 --> 00:09:22,414 has definitely been an informative discussion. 250 00:09:23,034 --> 00:09:24,235 So, again, I wanna thank you so much 251 00:09:24,235 --> 00:09:26,394 for coming on Becker's HealthCare, and I look 252 00:09:26,394 --> 00:09:28,714 forward to connecting with you again soon. Thank 253 00:09:28,714 --> 00:09:30,654 you so much. Have a great day.