1 00:00:02,240 --> 00:00:04,980 This is where health insurance leadership comes together. 2 00:00:05,279 --> 00:00:08,960 Becker's fourth annual spring payer issues roundtable brings 3 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:10,580 together over 400 4 00:00:10,639 --> 00:00:12,945 payer and health plan executives and more than 5 00:00:12,945 --> 00:00:16,484 100 speakers to Chicago April. 6 00:00:16,864 --> 00:00:19,824 This year's event includes keynote conversations with the 7 00:00:19,824 --> 00:00:23,105 industry's top leaders and former president George w 8 00:00:23,105 --> 00:00:25,664 Bush. For the full agenda and event details, 9 00:00:25,664 --> 00:00:27,870 visit beckershospitalreview.com 10 00:00:27,949 --> 00:00:29,230 and click on the events tab in the 11 00:00:29,230 --> 00:00:31,470 upper right. We're looking forward to hosting you 12 00:00:31,470 --> 00:00:32,609 here in Chicago. 13 00:00:33,950 --> 00:00:36,109 Hello, everyone. This is Jacob Emerson with the 14 00:00:36,109 --> 00:00:39,149 Becker's Payer Issues podcast. Thrilled today to be 15 00:00:39,149 --> 00:00:41,390 joined by Craig Kurzweil, who is the chief 16 00:00:41,390 --> 00:00:43,745 data and analytics officer for UnitedHealthcare's 17 00:00:44,204 --> 00:00:46,524 commercial business. Craig, thanks so much for taking 18 00:00:46,524 --> 00:00:47,804 the time to be with me on the 19 00:00:47,804 --> 00:00:50,445 podcast this morning. Thanks for having me. Absolutely. 20 00:00:50,445 --> 00:00:52,284 And before we dive into everything we wanna 21 00:00:52,284 --> 00:00:53,804 talk with you about, Craig, can you first 22 00:00:53,804 --> 00:00:55,825 tell us a little bit more about yourself 23 00:00:56,125 --> 00:00:57,725 and what it is that you do at 24 00:00:57,725 --> 00:00:58,225 UnitedHealthcare? 25 00:00:59,630 --> 00:01:00,910 Sure. That sounds good. 26 00:01:01,630 --> 00:01:04,290 So, I lead our data and analytics, 27 00:01:04,750 --> 00:01:07,090 and reporting for all of our employer customers. 28 00:01:07,549 --> 00:01:09,150 I've been with the company for about twenty 29 00:01:09,310 --> 00:01:11,250 just just over twenty one years now, 30 00:01:11,549 --> 00:01:13,329 and I spent that entire time 31 00:01:13,709 --> 00:01:15,784 focused on how do we translate 32 00:01:16,564 --> 00:01:17,944 massive amounts of data 33 00:01:18,325 --> 00:01:21,144 into something interesting and hopefully actionable 34 00:01:21,605 --> 00:01:24,665 for our employer clients through different iterations. So, 35 00:01:25,125 --> 00:01:26,849 I'm a data nerd at our at my 36 00:01:26,930 --> 00:01:28,290 heart and love to kinda dive in to 37 00:01:28,290 --> 00:01:29,650 see what's happening and how we can use 38 00:01:29,650 --> 00:01:31,349 that data to drive better results. 39 00:01:32,209 --> 00:01:34,549 Fantastic. Well, in that vein, Craig, UnitedHealthcare, 40 00:01:34,930 --> 00:01:37,810 as you know, releases findings every year through 41 00:01:37,810 --> 00:01:39,090 a white paper that you do with the 42 00:01:39,090 --> 00:01:40,390 health action council 43 00:01:40,745 --> 00:01:43,704 where you analyze member data for wider health 44 00:01:43,704 --> 00:01:44,444 care trends. 45 00:01:45,465 --> 00:01:47,385 So it's the ninth year of this of 46 00:01:47,385 --> 00:01:50,344 this paper, that you that you've published. And 47 00:01:50,344 --> 00:01:51,944 I wonder if our audience might not be 48 00:01:51,944 --> 00:01:53,700 familiar, can you give them a sense of 49 00:01:53,859 --> 00:01:56,180 what exactly this report is, what data it 50 00:01:56,180 --> 00:01:59,000 draws from, and and how it's evolved over, 51 00:01:59,379 --> 00:02:00,519 nearly a decade now? 52 00:02:01,140 --> 00:02:03,619 Sure. I it's been a very fun journey, 53 00:02:03,859 --> 00:02:05,939 with the Health Action Council. It's a very 54 00:02:05,939 --> 00:02:08,979 unique collaboration partnership where for an analytic person, 55 00:02:08,979 --> 00:02:09,479 especially, 56 00:02:09,915 --> 00:02:12,094 because within the health action council, we have, 57 00:02:12,715 --> 00:02:14,555 over 225,000 58 00:02:14,555 --> 00:02:15,594 members within, 59 00:02:15,915 --> 00:02:18,155 health action council that we can leverage on 60 00:02:18,155 --> 00:02:20,314 a de identified basis to do these kinds 61 00:02:20,314 --> 00:02:21,055 of broad 62 00:02:21,435 --> 00:02:24,175 view studies of what's happening across the population. 63 00:02:24,719 --> 00:02:26,319 As you mentioned, this is our ninth year, 64 00:02:26,319 --> 00:02:28,099 and so we've spent a lot of time 65 00:02:28,239 --> 00:02:30,040 really trying to focus in on parts of 66 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:31,699 the health care system maybe that haven't 67 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:34,000 been focused on enough or maybe not at 68 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:36,479 all, and kind of really hone in on 69 00:02:36,479 --> 00:02:39,284 those and give employers a unique perspective. So, 70 00:02:39,685 --> 00:02:41,444 for example, we've spent a lot of time 71 00:02:41,444 --> 00:02:44,405 in the pre COVID days, diving into generations 72 00:02:44,405 --> 00:02:46,824 and community health and social determinants of health, 73 00:02:46,885 --> 00:02:47,865 virtual care. 74 00:02:48,245 --> 00:02:50,165 And post COVID, we really been focused on 75 00:02:50,165 --> 00:02:51,685 kinda where do we go from here and 76 00:02:51,685 --> 00:02:54,004 what are some of the new, barriers to 77 00:02:54,004 --> 00:02:55,145 care and to cost. 78 00:02:55,819 --> 00:02:57,340 And for and we'll talk about to the 79 00:02:57,500 --> 00:02:59,900 this study, but really focusing on how the 80 00:02:59,900 --> 00:03:01,259 community has a lot to do with what 81 00:03:01,259 --> 00:03:03,819 happens across these populations. So it's really been 82 00:03:03,819 --> 00:03:06,060 a unique partnership, and that kind of membership 83 00:03:06,060 --> 00:03:07,659 allows you to do some really creative things. 84 00:03:07,659 --> 00:03:09,694 And and, honestly, the Health Action Council kinda 85 00:03:09,694 --> 00:03:12,094 thinking differently and allowing us the space to 86 00:03:12,094 --> 00:03:13,694 come up with studies that are different from 87 00:03:13,694 --> 00:03:16,275 the mainstream is, is is been wonderful, 88 00:03:16,814 --> 00:03:19,215 from an analytic person's point of view. So 89 00:03:19,215 --> 00:03:21,294 lots of really, really interesting ways to kinda 90 00:03:21,294 --> 00:03:23,235 see what's happening across the system. 91 00:03:23,909 --> 00:03:25,430 Absolutely. That makes a lot of sense. And 92 00:03:25,430 --> 00:03:27,590 I I read through the report myself. There's 93 00:03:27,590 --> 00:03:28,870 a lot in it, a lot of different 94 00:03:28,870 --> 00:03:31,270 areas of focus for employers. So I wonder 95 00:03:31,270 --> 00:03:33,270 if we starting off broadly, just talking about 96 00:03:33,270 --> 00:03:35,509 some of the results. Anything this year that 97 00:03:35,509 --> 00:03:36,650 surprised you? 98 00:03:37,194 --> 00:03:38,875 Sure. I think there's a a few things 99 00:03:38,875 --> 00:03:40,395 that kinda jump out to me, and I've 100 00:03:40,395 --> 00:03:42,074 lived in data for, like, twenty one years. 101 00:03:42,074 --> 00:03:43,915 And it's hard to surprise me these days. 102 00:03:43,915 --> 00:03:45,115 But there's a few things that I think 103 00:03:45,115 --> 00:03:45,615 are 104 00:03:45,995 --> 00:03:48,314 changing and maybe different than what people might 105 00:03:48,314 --> 00:03:50,849 anticipate. So as we start to dive into 106 00:03:50,849 --> 00:03:51,510 the data, 107 00:03:51,889 --> 00:03:54,370 and we're really focused in, in this study 108 00:03:54,370 --> 00:03:55,669 trying to look to see, 109 00:03:56,290 --> 00:03:57,430 how do generational 110 00:03:57,889 --> 00:03:59,270 and gender influences, 111 00:03:59,969 --> 00:04:00,469 impact 112 00:04:00,849 --> 00:04:03,590 what we see around cost utilization and affordability. 113 00:04:03,889 --> 00:04:06,014 And and of of the findings for this 114 00:04:06,014 --> 00:04:07,955 year, there's kinda three main areas. 115 00:04:08,495 --> 00:04:11,135 One being, you know, we typically assume that 116 00:04:11,135 --> 00:04:12,194 the younger population 117 00:04:13,055 --> 00:04:13,555 is, 118 00:04:13,935 --> 00:04:16,115 low cost, kind of invincible. Right? 119 00:04:16,889 --> 00:04:19,129 Not really haven't really developed a lot of 120 00:04:19,129 --> 00:04:21,709 chronic disease yet in their their younger population. 121 00:04:22,089 --> 00:04:24,009 But we're starting to see that change a 122 00:04:24,009 --> 00:04:25,370 bit. And we're starting to see some of 123 00:04:25,370 --> 00:04:28,649 those younger folks. They're still definitely lower cost 124 00:04:28,649 --> 00:04:31,845 and lower chronic disease than their older generational 125 00:04:31,845 --> 00:04:34,564 counterparts, of course. But we're starting to see 126 00:04:34,564 --> 00:04:36,404 them rise at a higher rate than we've 127 00:04:36,404 --> 00:04:37,845 seen in the past. So they're kinda catching 128 00:04:37,845 --> 00:04:39,845 up, so to speak to some of those 129 00:04:39,845 --> 00:04:40,665 older populations. 130 00:04:41,125 --> 00:04:43,384 And if you think about employers, typically, 131 00:04:44,245 --> 00:04:44,904 the focus 132 00:04:45,230 --> 00:04:47,310 forever has been how do we manage the 133 00:04:47,310 --> 00:04:49,310 risk in the older population because that's where 134 00:04:49,310 --> 00:04:51,389 more of the cost is driven by. This 135 00:04:51,389 --> 00:04:53,629 might change, some of those strategies or maybe 136 00:04:53,629 --> 00:04:55,970 rethink where we dedicate some of the strategies. 137 00:04:56,269 --> 00:04:58,430 And as part of that rise in the 138 00:04:58,430 --> 00:04:59,330 younger population, 139 00:04:59,794 --> 00:05:01,814 a big piece of that is that catastrophic 140 00:05:02,194 --> 00:05:04,694 health events, are becoming way more frequent. 141 00:05:05,314 --> 00:05:07,634 So we're seeing a rapid influx in the 142 00:05:07,634 --> 00:05:10,274 number of catastrophic claimants are now twice as 143 00:05:10,274 --> 00:05:12,194 common as they were five years ago. And 144 00:05:12,194 --> 00:05:13,889 we're seeing that not only just for the 145 00:05:13,889 --> 00:05:15,970 younger generation, but for all generations, you know, 146 00:05:15,970 --> 00:05:17,350 rise of the number of people 147 00:05:17,730 --> 00:05:20,710 reaching, a 100,000. 148 00:05:21,330 --> 00:05:23,410 And it's but it's no longer focused on 149 00:05:23,410 --> 00:05:25,110 just the older sicker population. 150 00:05:25,650 --> 00:05:28,125 It's focused everywhere. And kind of the third 151 00:05:28,125 --> 00:05:30,444 point that I'd focus in on and, obviously, 152 00:05:30,444 --> 00:05:32,865 a hot topic always is metabolic conditions. 153 00:05:33,324 --> 00:05:35,964 So we're starting to see them rise, more 154 00:05:35,964 --> 00:05:36,464 sharply. 155 00:05:36,845 --> 00:05:39,345 We're seeing we're starting to see metabolic symptoms 156 00:05:39,485 --> 00:05:39,985 rise 157 00:05:40,289 --> 00:05:42,370 quicker in some of the younger populations as 158 00:05:42,370 --> 00:05:44,709 well and and within men. 159 00:05:45,250 --> 00:05:46,949 In particular, we see that, 160 00:05:47,409 --> 00:05:49,970 those men that are struggling with metabolic conditions, 161 00:05:49,970 --> 00:05:51,990 so think diabetes, obesity, hypertension, 162 00:05:53,009 --> 00:05:55,589 much greater health risks, much higher costs, 163 00:05:56,485 --> 00:05:57,225 and, specifically, 164 00:05:57,525 --> 00:05:59,464 men with those metabolic issues, 165 00:05:59,764 --> 00:06:01,925 have much higher risk of some of the 166 00:06:01,925 --> 00:06:04,884 catastrophic events such as heart attack, stroke, and 167 00:06:04,884 --> 00:06:07,605 surgeries where we see a seven times greater 168 00:06:07,605 --> 00:06:09,360 risk within that population. So, 169 00:06:09,919 --> 00:06:11,439 the three main areas that I just would 170 00:06:11,439 --> 00:06:12,879 focus in on is the rise of the 171 00:06:12,879 --> 00:06:14,259 cost in the youth population, 172 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:16,899 catastrophic claimants start to become much more frequent, 173 00:06:16,959 --> 00:06:19,120 and then the rise of metabolic conditions across 174 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:21,219 all populations, especially in men. 175 00:06:21,834 --> 00:06:23,354 And, Craig, let's dive into that a little 176 00:06:23,354 --> 00:06:24,875 bit more in terms of the the rise 177 00:06:24,875 --> 00:06:26,954 in care costs for the younger population because 178 00:06:26,954 --> 00:06:28,254 that seems like a huge 179 00:06:28,555 --> 00:06:29,774 concern for employers. 180 00:06:30,474 --> 00:06:32,235 Now a population that maybe in the past 181 00:06:32,235 --> 00:06:34,634 was not a huge cost driver compared to 182 00:06:34,634 --> 00:06:35,375 other generations. 183 00:06:35,860 --> 00:06:36,900 And in the reports, 184 00:06:37,379 --> 00:06:39,800 specifically, it's Gen z's year over year, 185 00:06:40,259 --> 00:06:42,680 care spending. It jumped 18%, 186 00:06:43,060 --> 00:06:45,860 nearly double the rate of, the the rise 187 00:06:45,860 --> 00:06:48,115 in care costs for baby boomers. And it's 188 00:06:48,115 --> 00:06:49,495 driven, like you mentioned, 189 00:06:50,115 --> 00:06:53,014 a rise in catastrophic claims, forty one percent 190 00:06:53,074 --> 00:06:55,014 increase that you noted in the report. 191 00:06:55,394 --> 00:06:58,115 So what is this increase in in chronic 192 00:06:58,115 --> 00:07:01,555 disease, in catastrophic care among younger workers? What 193 00:07:01,555 --> 00:07:04,199 does that signal on the ground for their 194 00:07:04,199 --> 00:07:04,699 employers? 195 00:07:05,879 --> 00:07:07,480 Yeah. Two things, and they go hand in 196 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:09,500 hand. So first, we are seeing 197 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:10,540 that, 198 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:13,800 in younger the younger folks are starting to 199 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:14,300 develop 200 00:07:14,884 --> 00:07:16,904 chronic conditions or health risks 201 00:07:17,285 --> 00:07:20,584 at younger ages. So we're seeing obesity, hypertension, 202 00:07:20,964 --> 00:07:21,944 behavioral health, 203 00:07:22,564 --> 00:07:24,105 starting to pop up earlier, 204 00:07:24,805 --> 00:07:26,264 in their natural progression. 205 00:07:26,884 --> 00:07:27,300 That 206 00:07:27,939 --> 00:07:29,639 development of chronic conditions 207 00:07:30,099 --> 00:07:32,579 then leads to the opportunity. Some of those 208 00:07:32,579 --> 00:07:34,419 folks are gonna be well managed and making 209 00:07:34,419 --> 00:07:36,579 good choices, but we're gonna see within that 210 00:07:36,579 --> 00:07:39,079 younger generation. They're maybe not equipped or ready, 211 00:07:39,539 --> 00:07:41,459 to really navigate the health care system in 212 00:07:41,459 --> 00:07:44,045 a good way, leading to those chronic diseases 213 00:07:44,425 --> 00:07:48,024 turning into catastrophic events. So we see, again, 214 00:07:48,024 --> 00:07:49,545 like, like, like you said, a forty one 215 00:07:49,545 --> 00:07:52,444 percent increase in catastrophic events among younger adults, 216 00:07:53,144 --> 00:07:55,944 driven by the rise of chronic disease as 217 00:07:55,944 --> 00:07:57,084 well as that population 218 00:07:57,779 --> 00:08:00,740 not being as engaged or educated on how 219 00:08:00,740 --> 00:08:02,759 to use the health care system appropriately 220 00:08:03,139 --> 00:08:05,480 to prevent those types of things from happening. 221 00:08:07,139 --> 00:08:08,040 This is interesting. 222 00:08:08,660 --> 00:08:10,580 The other part you mentioned earlier in terms 223 00:08:10,580 --> 00:08:12,944 of some of the the differences you're noticing 224 00:08:12,944 --> 00:08:15,204 between men and women and how they access 225 00:08:15,264 --> 00:08:17,365 care or engage with the system, 226 00:08:17,745 --> 00:08:18,245 overall, 227 00:08:18,704 --> 00:08:21,444 the data showing that men have consistently lower 228 00:08:21,584 --> 00:08:24,564 PCP engagement than women starting at age 18, 229 00:08:24,879 --> 00:08:27,939 and that gap doesn't close until their sixties, 230 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:28,740 which is, 231 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:30,579 I mean, just wow. 232 00:08:31,439 --> 00:08:33,360 So I wonder what is the data telling 233 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:35,360 you in terms of why men's health has 234 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:37,200 been so difficult to move the needle on 235 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:37,700 overall, 236 00:08:38,315 --> 00:08:39,914 And what do you think it would actually 237 00:08:39,914 --> 00:08:42,735 take for employers, for the health plan, 238 00:08:43,195 --> 00:08:45,514 to change these patterns earlier in in their 239 00:08:45,514 --> 00:08:46,014 lives? 240 00:08:47,034 --> 00:08:48,634 Yeah. This is this is definitely a tough 241 00:08:48,634 --> 00:08:50,075 one. This has been kind of an age 242 00:08:50,075 --> 00:08:51,855 old sort of question. How do you engage, 243 00:08:52,629 --> 00:08:54,490 especially the younger male population? 244 00:08:55,269 --> 00:08:56,970 In general, what you see in the data, 245 00:08:57,750 --> 00:08:58,250 is 246 00:08:58,709 --> 00:09:01,370 men make decent health care choices 247 00:09:02,470 --> 00:09:04,004 when something has happened. 248 00:09:04,404 --> 00:09:06,565 So when you are diagnosed with a condition, 249 00:09:06,565 --> 00:09:08,725 when you're diagnosed with diabetes or heart disease 250 00:09:08,725 --> 00:09:11,225 or so or so on, you see that 251 00:09:11,365 --> 00:09:13,785 men will make pretty good health care choices 252 00:09:13,845 --> 00:09:14,825 in that space. 253 00:09:15,205 --> 00:09:17,285 It's the before that we're worried about. It's 254 00:09:17,285 --> 00:09:19,700 the prevention piece. It's seeing your doctor on 255 00:09:19,700 --> 00:09:22,360 a regular basis. It's getting preventive screenings done. 256 00:09:22,419 --> 00:09:25,159 That's where men prior to age 60 257 00:09:25,539 --> 00:09:26,440 really have 258 00:09:26,899 --> 00:09:29,559 wide gaps compared to their female, counterparts. 259 00:09:30,019 --> 00:09:31,959 So it's really about how do you, 260 00:09:33,654 --> 00:09:34,715 engage incense, 261 00:09:35,174 --> 00:09:37,914 nudge those men to start to see that, 262 00:09:38,455 --> 00:09:40,535 prevention matters, and you can stop these kind 263 00:09:40,695 --> 00:09:42,455 you can stop or at least mitigate some 264 00:09:42,455 --> 00:09:44,615 of those events from happening if you do 265 00:09:44,615 --> 00:09:45,754 something before 266 00:09:46,279 --> 00:09:48,040 the bad news kind of comes in from 267 00:09:48,040 --> 00:09:50,360 a health care perspective. And really, really hard, 268 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:51,960 really, really challenging, but it really comes down 269 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:54,360 to, as you see in the study, engagement 270 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:55,340 with your PCP. 271 00:09:55,720 --> 00:09:56,540 Can you 272 00:09:56,919 --> 00:09:58,540 make it easy, make it simple, 273 00:09:58,855 --> 00:09:59,754 make it accessible 274 00:10:00,215 --> 00:10:02,294 for those men to be able to engage 275 00:10:02,294 --> 00:10:04,774 their PCP? Because once that happens, we start 276 00:10:04,774 --> 00:10:05,595 to see analytically 277 00:10:05,975 --> 00:10:07,674 that a lot of those other gaps, 278 00:10:08,215 --> 00:10:09,115 start to change, 279 00:10:09,575 --> 00:10:10,394 pretty quickly. 280 00:10:11,629 --> 00:10:12,990 Sure. No. That makes a lot of sense 281 00:10:12,990 --> 00:10:15,409 in terms of strategy. Men are being reactive, 282 00:10:15,709 --> 00:10:16,450 not proactive 283 00:10:16,830 --> 00:10:18,990 to to their health. And I wonder more 284 00:10:18,990 --> 00:10:20,529 broadly, Greg, how 285 00:10:20,830 --> 00:10:23,709 how close do you think employers' health plans 286 00:10:23,709 --> 00:10:25,570 are to being I being able to identify, 287 00:10:26,394 --> 00:10:28,335 some of those high cost members, 288 00:10:28,955 --> 00:10:31,774 like a man early on in their life, 289 00:10:32,154 --> 00:10:34,174 early enough to intervene meaningfully. 290 00:10:34,955 --> 00:10:37,134 And and, ultimately, what is the biggest barrier 291 00:10:37,355 --> 00:10:38,714 to that right now? Is it is it 292 00:10:38,714 --> 00:10:39,455 not having 293 00:10:39,889 --> 00:10:42,129 enough or or the right data? Is it 294 00:10:42,129 --> 00:10:44,230 the clinical programs themselves? Is it 295 00:10:44,529 --> 00:10:46,769 getting that over that hump of, getting them 296 00:10:46,769 --> 00:10:49,590 to be proactive and engage earlier? 297 00:10:49,970 --> 00:10:51,490 What do you think it is that's, the 298 00:10:51,490 --> 00:10:52,710 biggest barrier there? 299 00:10:53,424 --> 00:10:55,184 I think and and, obviously, I'm biased, but 300 00:10:55,184 --> 00:10:57,285 I think the data has gotten pretty good. 301 00:10:57,985 --> 00:11:01,264 We have, the ability at a population level 302 00:11:01,264 --> 00:11:03,105 within the employers that we work with to 303 00:11:03,105 --> 00:11:03,684 to really 304 00:11:04,065 --> 00:11:05,285 be able to understand 305 00:11:05,825 --> 00:11:07,205 where the drivers are, 306 00:11:07,789 --> 00:11:09,409 where the decisions are inappropriate. 307 00:11:09,789 --> 00:11:11,789 So, for example, rather than kind of peanut 308 00:11:11,789 --> 00:11:14,529 butter spreading solutions across an entire population, 309 00:11:15,070 --> 00:11:16,929 we can hone in that it's not a 310 00:11:17,070 --> 00:11:20,110 PCP engagement issue, and their entire population really 311 00:11:20,110 --> 00:11:21,870 is focused on, for example, the young male 312 00:11:21,870 --> 00:11:22,370 population 313 00:11:22,804 --> 00:11:24,904 or a specific market or a specific, 314 00:11:25,924 --> 00:11:28,105 age group and so on. So analytically, 315 00:11:28,565 --> 00:11:31,365 at a population health perspective, that's gotten really 316 00:11:31,365 --> 00:11:32,745 good. And I think most employers 317 00:11:33,204 --> 00:11:35,605 can precisely see where the where the problems 318 00:11:35,605 --> 00:11:37,440 are, where the focus areas should be. And 319 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:39,759 even at an individual level, I think analytics 320 00:11:39,759 --> 00:11:41,840 have gotten much better as well as we 321 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:42,740 start to identify 322 00:11:43,519 --> 00:11:45,840 who's at risk, who's headed down a a 323 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:48,559 negative path, and as quickly as we can 324 00:11:48,559 --> 00:11:50,259 be able to outreach into that population. 325 00:11:50,644 --> 00:11:52,485 And that's where a lot of the, clinical 326 00:11:52,485 --> 00:11:54,825 programs that exist today are really focused. So, 327 00:11:54,884 --> 00:11:56,804 analytically, we can find these folks as quickly 328 00:11:56,804 --> 00:11:58,644 as possible. We can start to predict the 329 00:11:58,644 --> 00:12:00,804 path that they're headed down and start to 330 00:12:00,804 --> 00:12:02,585 engage them further upstream. 331 00:12:03,690 --> 00:12:05,210 Years and years ago, it used to be 332 00:12:05,210 --> 00:12:07,529 that your analytics were dated, and you would 333 00:12:07,529 --> 00:12:09,450 find out that a member was headed down 334 00:12:09,450 --> 00:12:12,110 a bad path after that event already occurred. 335 00:12:12,330 --> 00:12:14,889 And then clinical program outreach would typically happen 336 00:12:14,889 --> 00:12:17,754 after that event occurred as well. But analytics 337 00:12:17,754 --> 00:12:19,514 have gotten better. Data has become more real 338 00:12:19,514 --> 00:12:21,835 time. And now we can start to identify 339 00:12:21,835 --> 00:12:22,475 these folks, 340 00:12:22,955 --> 00:12:23,455 upstream, 341 00:12:23,995 --> 00:12:25,914 guiding them into programs. So there are there 342 00:12:25,914 --> 00:12:28,475 are programs that can help guide people into 343 00:12:28,475 --> 00:12:32,075 leveraging primary care physicians. There's digital condition management 344 00:12:32,075 --> 00:12:34,850 programs. There's lots of different metabolic health coaching 345 00:12:34,850 --> 00:12:37,429 and monitoring events. For example, with the UnitedHealthcare, 346 00:12:37,649 --> 00:12:39,509 we have level two for die for diabetes 347 00:12:39,809 --> 00:12:41,909 that can help kinda manage those those diabetics. 348 00:12:42,370 --> 00:12:44,209 So there are lots of opportunities out there. 349 00:12:44,209 --> 00:12:46,370 And I think, analytically and clinically, we're now 350 00:12:46,370 --> 00:12:47,649 at a point where we can outreach to 351 00:12:47,649 --> 00:12:49,924 these people sooner and quicker upstream to make 352 00:12:49,924 --> 00:12:51,605 a bigger difference in what the future is 353 00:12:51,605 --> 00:12:53,764 going to hold. But at the end of 354 00:12:53,764 --> 00:12:56,084 the day, it's all about engagement. We can 355 00:12:56,084 --> 00:12:58,084 find those people early. We can have the 356 00:12:58,084 --> 00:12:59,764 best programs in the world that would make 357 00:12:59,764 --> 00:13:01,384 the biggest difference for that population. 358 00:13:01,809 --> 00:13:03,889 But if you're unable to get them to 359 00:13:03,889 --> 00:13:05,649 an engage and to sign up and to 360 00:13:05,649 --> 00:13:06,149 participate, 361 00:13:07,090 --> 00:13:08,690 none of that's worth it. And that's where 362 00:13:08,690 --> 00:13:10,050 a lot of the focus is right now. 363 00:13:10,050 --> 00:13:12,230 How do we focus on the consumer, 364 00:13:12,610 --> 00:13:14,870 make that engagement simple, easy, 365 00:13:15,394 --> 00:13:17,154 make that the easy choice for them versus 366 00:13:17,154 --> 00:13:17,975 the hard choice, 367 00:13:18,434 --> 00:13:20,195 because we know how the health care system 368 00:13:20,195 --> 00:13:21,495 is incredibly complicated. 369 00:13:22,115 --> 00:13:24,674 People get confused pretty easily because there's a 370 00:13:24,674 --> 00:13:26,355 lot of different variables out there, and they 371 00:13:26,355 --> 00:13:28,595 don't know where to go, where to get 372 00:13:28,595 --> 00:13:30,535 the best care, what should I do next. 373 00:13:31,649 --> 00:13:33,649 But our ability to meet the consumer where 374 00:13:33,649 --> 00:13:36,210 they are, whether that be through digital means, 375 00:13:36,210 --> 00:13:38,789 whether it be through telephonic advocacy means, 376 00:13:39,250 --> 00:13:41,330 finding different ways to kind of make sure 377 00:13:41,330 --> 00:13:43,875 it's simple and easy for them to see 378 00:13:44,174 --> 00:13:46,334 the way that engagement can lead to a 379 00:13:46,334 --> 00:13:48,595 better life, you know, for these members. 380 00:13:49,454 --> 00:13:51,615 Absolutely. And you're not just leaving employers in 381 00:13:51,615 --> 00:13:54,014 the dark here with these findings. The report 382 00:13:54,014 --> 00:13:56,754 is actually making seven specific recommendations 383 00:13:57,214 --> 00:13:57,954 for employers, 384 00:13:59,039 --> 00:14:00,639 in terms of how to achieve what we're 385 00:14:00,639 --> 00:14:03,139 talking about, Craig, and and it's everything from 386 00:14:03,279 --> 00:14:07,440 segmenting populations by generation and gender to building 387 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:09,519 a men's health strategy that starts at age 388 00:14:09,519 --> 00:14:12,884 40. So you said data analytics gotten a 389 00:14:12,884 --> 00:14:14,665 lot better over the years. 390 00:14:15,125 --> 00:14:17,845 Are you seeing health plans and employers actually 391 00:14:17,845 --> 00:14:20,085 act on this kind of data, and and 392 00:14:20,085 --> 00:14:22,245 where do you think is there where does 393 00:14:22,245 --> 00:14:24,805 that gap still exist between the insights you're 394 00:14:24,805 --> 00:14:27,305 providing and then the execution on the ground? 395 00:14:28,090 --> 00:14:30,409 I think there's more action being taken by 396 00:14:30,409 --> 00:14:32,889 employers today than ever. And there's a a 397 00:14:32,889 --> 00:14:35,230 few different variables kinda driving that, but, obviously, 398 00:14:35,370 --> 00:14:37,389 affordability is an issue, and employers 399 00:14:37,929 --> 00:14:40,490 are doing whatever they possibly can with their 400 00:14:40,490 --> 00:14:41,870 partners to help bring 401 00:14:42,254 --> 00:14:44,575 affordability back into a better space. As well 402 00:14:44,575 --> 00:14:46,115 as, many employers 403 00:14:46,815 --> 00:14:48,815 are are seeing are are being being are 404 00:14:48,815 --> 00:14:50,754 able to see on a more rapid basis 405 00:14:51,295 --> 00:14:53,315 that engagement in health 406 00:14:53,695 --> 00:14:54,990 does more than just 407 00:14:55,950 --> 00:14:56,450 impact, 408 00:14:57,230 --> 00:14:59,950 affordability in health care. If we can guide 409 00:14:59,950 --> 00:15:02,289 people towards better health and better engagement, 410 00:15:02,990 --> 00:15:05,149 they're able to see that those employees are 411 00:15:05,149 --> 00:15:07,070 going to be better employees. They're gonna be 412 00:15:07,070 --> 00:15:09,044 more productive. They're gonna be more present. So 413 00:15:09,044 --> 00:15:11,365 it's all encompassing. It's a big issue for 414 00:15:11,365 --> 00:15:13,125 these employers. And I think now like I 415 00:15:13,125 --> 00:15:14,804 said, now they're more than ever. They're starting 416 00:15:14,804 --> 00:15:16,644 to take action upon it. And by that 417 00:15:16,644 --> 00:15:18,804 action, I think it's it's really important to 418 00:15:18,804 --> 00:15:22,160 think about targeted approaches along these efforts. It's 419 00:15:22,160 --> 00:15:24,160 hard to get the the less than 40 420 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:25,379 year old male population 421 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:27,440 to start to engage, even the forty to 422 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:29,519 fifty year old male population to engage. But 423 00:15:29,519 --> 00:15:30,800 if you can be focused, if you can 424 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:31,460 be targeted, 425 00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:34,320 just like other marketing firms that have done 426 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:36,735 for for decades now, If you can become 427 00:15:36,735 --> 00:15:38,835 that focused, you're gonna start to understand 428 00:15:39,455 --> 00:15:41,215 what is the best way to get this 429 00:15:41,215 --> 00:15:43,774 unique part of my population to engage. I 430 00:15:43,774 --> 00:15:45,774 might not be able to get everybody, but 431 00:15:45,774 --> 00:15:47,875 if I focus in the biggest outliers, 432 00:15:48,175 --> 00:15:50,415 I can create a strategy whether that be 433 00:15:50,415 --> 00:15:51,315 through communication, 434 00:15:51,879 --> 00:15:54,360 through digital campaigns, and so on, or even 435 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:56,459 boots on the ground to get that population 436 00:15:56,919 --> 00:15:59,559 to engage in the various programs that a 437 00:15:59,559 --> 00:16:01,259 lot of these employers are offering. 438 00:16:01,559 --> 00:16:04,299 Employers have historically offered lots of different solutions 439 00:16:05,214 --> 00:16:06,595 and opportunities for members, 440 00:16:07,054 --> 00:16:09,294 but have struggled to get people to engage 441 00:16:09,294 --> 00:16:11,875 in those programs. So, again, it's all about 442 00:16:12,014 --> 00:16:16,174 the consumer, consumer analytics, marketing based analytics, finding 443 00:16:16,174 --> 00:16:18,014 ways to make it simple and easy and 444 00:16:18,014 --> 00:16:19,955 targeted for these members to engage. 445 00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:22,860 Well, Craig, before we go, 446 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:24,940 where where can our listeners 447 00:16:25,559 --> 00:16:27,360 find this report if they'd like to read 448 00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:29,480 it themselves? And is there anything else that 449 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:31,240 we're missing today that you wanna share with 450 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:31,740 them? 451 00:16:32,519 --> 00:16:34,764 Sure. The report is is public and available, 452 00:16:34,764 --> 00:16:36,125 so it's you can find it in the 453 00:16:36,125 --> 00:16:38,284 health action council website. You'll see it posted 454 00:16:38,284 --> 00:16:40,365 out there. And I, again, I would just 455 00:16:40,365 --> 00:16:42,524 focus on the fact that and, again, I'm 456 00:16:42,524 --> 00:16:44,544 very biased, but start with the data. 457 00:16:45,004 --> 00:16:46,544 See what's happening in your population. 458 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:48,720 Cut and slice your data. Don't just look 459 00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:50,419 at things in aggregate. Look at the subpopulations 460 00:16:50,639 --> 00:16:51,860 that are driving your need. 461 00:16:52,399 --> 00:16:54,559 Check to see if the results that we're 462 00:16:54,559 --> 00:16:56,559 seeing in the study apply to you, may 463 00:16:56,559 --> 00:16:58,399 or may not. We we are seeing this 464 00:16:58,399 --> 00:17:00,524 broadly, but make sure this is applied within 465 00:17:00,524 --> 00:17:03,884 your population. And then focus on consumer driven 466 00:17:03,884 --> 00:17:04,384 targeted, 467 00:17:05,164 --> 00:17:05,664 solutions 468 00:17:06,045 --> 00:17:08,125 that can help in the specific areas that 469 00:17:08,125 --> 00:17:11,005 are driving affordability and health challenges within your 470 00:17:11,005 --> 00:17:11,505 population. 471 00:17:12,919 --> 00:17:15,079 Fantastic. Well, Craig, thank you very much for 472 00:17:15,079 --> 00:17:17,259 taking the time to chat with us here 473 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:19,559 on the podcast and for breaking down these 474 00:17:19,559 --> 00:17:21,880 latest findings for our listeners. We really appreciate 475 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:24,149 it. Thanks for having me. And to our 476 00:17:24,149 --> 00:17:26,069 listeners, if you'd like to listen to more 477 00:17:26,069 --> 00:17:30,249 podcasts from Becker's Healthcare, you can visit beckershospitalreview.com.