1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,159 Everyone. This is Jacob Emerson with the Becker's 2 00:00:02,159 --> 00:00:03,379 Payer Issues podcast. 3 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:06,240 Thrilled today to be joined by Brian Chaney, 4 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:08,639 who serves as division senior vice president of 5 00:00:08,639 --> 00:00:11,919 sales operations and commercial markets growth at HealthCare 6 00:00:11,919 --> 00:00:12,820 Service Corporation. 7 00:00:13,255 --> 00:00:14,615 Brian, thank you so much for taking the 8 00:00:14,615 --> 00:00:16,214 time to be with me on the podcast 9 00:00:16,214 --> 00:00:16,714 today. 10 00:00:17,095 --> 00:00:18,554 Happy to be here. Thanks, Jacob. 11 00:00:19,015 --> 00:00:21,015 Absolutely. And before we dive into everything we 12 00:00:21,015 --> 00:00:22,535 wanna talk with you about today, Brian, can 13 00:00:22,535 --> 00:00:23,894 you first tell us a little bit more 14 00:00:23,894 --> 00:00:24,635 about yourself 15 00:00:24,935 --> 00:00:26,295 and what it is that you do today 16 00:00:26,295 --> 00:00:26,954 at HCSC? 17 00:00:28,019 --> 00:00:30,420 Happy to. I've, been here at HCFC for 18 00:00:30,420 --> 00:00:33,140 for twenty years, which seems either like a 19 00:00:33,140 --> 00:00:34,820 short day or a lifetime depending on the 20 00:00:34,820 --> 00:00:35,320 day. 21 00:00:35,859 --> 00:00:38,039 Always worked in different parts of our commercial 22 00:00:38,100 --> 00:00:40,420 or employer space. So I've known small group 23 00:00:40,420 --> 00:00:41,560 employers, large, 24 00:00:42,054 --> 00:00:44,134 worked with our national customers for five or 25 00:00:44,134 --> 00:00:44,795 six years. 26 00:00:45,174 --> 00:00:46,854 And for the last about year, I've been 27 00:00:46,854 --> 00:00:48,954 in charge of of trying to find solutions 28 00:00:49,015 --> 00:00:49,914 for all of them. 29 00:00:50,375 --> 00:00:52,134 In the health care space, sometimes we call 30 00:00:52,134 --> 00:00:53,814 that a product, we call it an offering, 31 00:00:53,814 --> 00:00:55,254 we call it things like, I think we're 32 00:00:55,254 --> 00:00:56,634 gonna dive into today. 33 00:00:56,990 --> 00:00:58,590 And the summary of those things is, like, 34 00:00:58,590 --> 00:01:00,429 what are we doing to solve their health 35 00:01:00,429 --> 00:01:02,369 care problems and keep their employees, 36 00:01:02,829 --> 00:01:04,670 you know, as best we possibly can. So 37 00:01:04,670 --> 00:01:06,030 that's that's why I get up and think 38 00:01:06,030 --> 00:01:07,810 about every day if that helps. 39 00:01:08,510 --> 00:01:10,510 That is super helpful, and appreciate you giving 40 00:01:10,510 --> 00:01:12,049 the audience some background there, Brian. 41 00:01:12,984 --> 00:01:14,505 So so we're here today to talk a 42 00:01:14,505 --> 00:01:15,325 little bit about 43 00:01:15,704 --> 00:01:19,145 HCSC launching a new digital health platform called 44 00:01:19,145 --> 00:01:21,465 the Unity Health Hub, and it's aimed at 45 00:01:21,465 --> 00:01:22,284 helping employers 46 00:01:22,585 --> 00:01:25,165 more easily navigate the currently fragmented 47 00:01:25,625 --> 00:01:26,765 digital health landscape. 48 00:01:27,859 --> 00:01:30,579 So for for health plans listening in or 49 00:01:30,579 --> 00:01:33,219 other employer benefits leaders out there who might 50 00:01:33,219 --> 00:01:35,640 not be super familiar with what this is, 51 00:01:36,099 --> 00:01:37,939 talk to us about what the problem was 52 00:01:37,939 --> 00:01:40,899 that existed before the hub and that that 53 00:01:40,899 --> 00:01:43,185 ultimately made this necessary and and how the 54 00:01:43,185 --> 00:01:45,025 platform actually works day to day for an 55 00:01:45,025 --> 00:01:47,045 employee on the ground or or the employer 56 00:01:47,185 --> 00:01:48,165 that needs it. 57 00:01:48,784 --> 00:01:50,724 Yeah. Happy to. I I think 58 00:01:51,265 --> 00:01:53,505 this concept and and this thing we're launching, 59 00:01:53,505 --> 00:01:55,265 like most good things, are are born out 60 00:01:55,265 --> 00:01:56,939 of necessity. Necessity. Right? They're born out of 61 00:01:56,939 --> 00:01:58,799 truly solving a problem. And 62 00:01:59,340 --> 00:02:01,979 what we continue to hear, from employers across 63 00:02:01,979 --> 00:02:04,479 the country is is frankly exhaustion 64 00:02:04,780 --> 00:02:05,599 out of time, 65 00:02:06,459 --> 00:02:09,259 themselves in terms of navigating this landscape that 66 00:02:09,259 --> 00:02:10,275 we're gonna go into. 67 00:02:10,995 --> 00:02:13,235 Some rough numbers of the thousands of digital 68 00:02:13,235 --> 00:02:15,074 point solutions that are out there would would 69 00:02:15,074 --> 00:02:16,834 kinda lead you to this point of just 70 00:02:16,834 --> 00:02:19,555 fatigue over which is the best, how am 71 00:02:19,555 --> 00:02:21,715 I solving employee problems. So that was the 72 00:02:21,715 --> 00:02:23,655 thesis. Right? Is can we do that better? 73 00:02:23,875 --> 00:02:26,250 And certainly, we you know, HCSC and and 74 00:02:26,330 --> 00:02:28,490 all carriers work with some of these digital 75 00:02:28,490 --> 00:02:28,990 assets, 76 00:02:29,449 --> 00:02:29,949 today. 77 00:02:30,569 --> 00:02:32,889 The the trick is how do you create 78 00:02:32,889 --> 00:02:34,889 an ecosystem, and that's what we believe we're 79 00:02:34,889 --> 00:02:35,389 launching, 80 00:02:36,009 --> 00:02:37,550 that allows for optionality, 81 00:02:38,490 --> 00:02:40,990 inside of what the employer member can see, 82 00:02:41,335 --> 00:02:44,135 letting that digital solution find them at the 83 00:02:44,135 --> 00:02:45,594 right place, the right time. 84 00:02:45,895 --> 00:02:47,415 And then one of the most important things 85 00:02:47,415 --> 00:02:48,935 is how do they know if it actually 86 00:02:48,935 --> 00:02:49,435 worked? 87 00:02:50,135 --> 00:02:52,955 So in a nutshell, the Unity Health Hub, 88 00:02:53,415 --> 00:02:56,150 will allow them to manage these different categories, 89 00:02:56,150 --> 00:02:57,590 and that's how they tend to think about 90 00:02:57,590 --> 00:03:00,389 it. Like, who's solving my my diabetes issue, 91 00:03:00,389 --> 00:03:02,789 my women's health, my weight management, like like, 92 00:03:02,789 --> 00:03:04,250 things that are common categories? 93 00:03:05,030 --> 00:03:06,949 Who's gonna create an a network, if you 94 00:03:06,949 --> 00:03:08,409 will, Jacob, of those solutions? 95 00:03:09,525 --> 00:03:11,764 That's the first step, just building the technical 96 00:03:11,764 --> 00:03:12,264 integration. 97 00:03:12,965 --> 00:03:15,284 Then who's gonna make it consumable by the 98 00:03:15,284 --> 00:03:15,784 member? 99 00:03:16,085 --> 00:03:17,685 Who's going to create a way, and we 100 00:03:17,685 --> 00:03:19,205 can talk a bit more about this, where 101 00:03:19,205 --> 00:03:21,465 the member knows where to find that solution 102 00:03:21,525 --> 00:03:22,344 based on 103 00:03:23,099 --> 00:03:25,819 maybe their particular acuity. Like, are in the 104 00:03:25,819 --> 00:03:28,460 weight management category, are they severely overweight, or 105 00:03:28,460 --> 00:03:30,060 do they just have some maintenance they'd like 106 00:03:30,060 --> 00:03:30,719 to do? 107 00:03:31,180 --> 00:03:33,020 Our solution will give them that guidance. It 108 00:03:33,020 --> 00:03:34,860 would then give them a hub of reporting 109 00:03:34,860 --> 00:03:36,300 and data where they can see all the 110 00:03:36,300 --> 00:03:37,680 analytics in one place. 111 00:03:38,405 --> 00:03:41,205 And then the most important part, don't lose 112 00:03:41,205 --> 00:03:43,284 any of that health care journey out there 113 00:03:43,284 --> 00:03:45,205 in the point solution itself. And what I 114 00:03:45,205 --> 00:03:47,444 mean there in the fourth point is can 115 00:03:47,444 --> 00:03:50,085 you then connect the data and connect that 116 00:03:50,085 --> 00:03:52,104 part of their care journey back to everything 117 00:03:52,165 --> 00:03:54,620 they're doing. And so that's why we took 118 00:03:54,620 --> 00:03:56,620 some time to settle in on on a 119 00:03:56,620 --> 00:03:58,620 partner and our approach that we think does 120 00:03:58,620 --> 00:04:00,080 all four of of those things. 121 00:04:01,099 --> 00:04:03,340 Understood. So you're really trying to tackle that 122 00:04:03,340 --> 00:04:05,740 vendor fatigue that everyone in the industry is 123 00:04:05,740 --> 00:04:08,174 familiar with, and then ultimately making it easier 124 00:04:08,174 --> 00:04:09,875 for for the members to navigate 125 00:04:10,334 --> 00:04:12,114 this this complicated space. 126 00:04:12,495 --> 00:04:13,854 And, you know, we we we've seen a 127 00:04:13,854 --> 00:04:16,334 lot of other insurers across the country launch 128 00:04:16,334 --> 00:04:18,095 vendor hubs in the last few years as 129 00:04:18,095 --> 00:04:18,509 well. 130 00:04:18,990 --> 00:04:20,830 We've we've also heard from health plans from 131 00:04:20,830 --> 00:04:21,330 employers 132 00:04:21,710 --> 00:04:25,069 ultimately burned by point solutions that don't deliver 133 00:04:25,069 --> 00:04:27,230 on on the outcomes that they promise. And 134 00:04:27,230 --> 00:04:30,524 so what's the what's the vetting criteria for 135 00:04:30,764 --> 00:04:33,165 the solutions that are gonna be offered across 136 00:04:33,165 --> 00:04:33,824 the hub, 137 00:04:34,125 --> 00:04:36,524 and how does how does HSC plan to 138 00:04:36,524 --> 00:04:39,024 handle a vendor that might underperform against, 139 00:04:39,485 --> 00:04:41,164 some of the stated benchmarks that they put 140 00:04:41,164 --> 00:04:41,664 out? 141 00:04:42,125 --> 00:04:44,879 Yeah. Great question. I think there's two two 142 00:04:44,879 --> 00:04:46,900 lanes here that are important to the employer. 143 00:04:47,199 --> 00:04:49,280 And one is that we have some sort 144 00:04:49,280 --> 00:04:50,980 of vetting process to your point. 145 00:04:51,439 --> 00:04:52,960 And, really, what they want that to do, 146 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:55,300 what they want us to empower is transparency 147 00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:57,860 into the data, which I said, 148 00:04:58,425 --> 00:05:00,985 but the actual touch, the the moment where 149 00:05:00,985 --> 00:05:03,245 you influenced the member and proven 150 00:05:03,704 --> 00:05:05,305 that each and I'll use a word I 151 00:05:05,305 --> 00:05:07,144 think is familiar to folks in industry. Each 152 00:05:07,144 --> 00:05:07,644 milestone, 153 00:05:08,264 --> 00:05:09,944 each point that you said you would move 154 00:05:09,944 --> 00:05:12,504 the member to access this reading or this 155 00:05:12,504 --> 00:05:13,805 test or this thing 156 00:05:14,220 --> 00:05:16,699 is accurately reported on so that they know 157 00:05:16,699 --> 00:05:17,520 that it worked. 158 00:05:18,220 --> 00:05:19,420 And and the thing that you and I 159 00:05:19,420 --> 00:05:20,860 would hear in industry a lot is in 160 00:05:20,860 --> 00:05:23,339 that vetting, are you making sure that nobody's 161 00:05:23,339 --> 00:05:25,660 counting the same dollar twice? Right? And and 162 00:05:25,660 --> 00:05:27,100 so that the real true way to do 163 00:05:27,100 --> 00:05:29,175 that is to be able to see how 164 00:05:29,175 --> 00:05:30,935 they move through apps, how they move through 165 00:05:30,935 --> 00:05:32,154 the selection process. 166 00:05:32,694 --> 00:05:33,435 And, frankly, 167 00:05:33,814 --> 00:05:37,014 in time, these point solutions themselves will probably 168 00:05:37,014 --> 00:05:38,954 come in and out of those care categories 169 00:05:39,175 --> 00:05:41,115 as they have to prove it 170 00:05:41,620 --> 00:05:43,779 in a way that is, the digital touch 171 00:05:43,779 --> 00:05:45,860 point, not some of the older school things 172 00:05:45,860 --> 00:05:47,779 like how many mailers did you send to 173 00:05:47,779 --> 00:05:49,060 their home, or did you send them a 174 00:05:49,060 --> 00:05:50,919 text message? Those things are valid, 175 00:05:51,459 --> 00:05:53,379 but it's really like, did you actually move 176 00:05:53,379 --> 00:05:55,634 the needle through the site of care, the 177 00:05:55,634 --> 00:05:58,134 application of care? That's kind of lane one. 178 00:05:58,595 --> 00:06:00,834 Lane two is some of these, especially larger 179 00:06:00,834 --> 00:06:02,694 employers say, like, I've already vetted. 180 00:06:03,154 --> 00:06:05,474 I've done some identification of one that I 181 00:06:05,474 --> 00:06:07,954 think hits my population need. And what I 182 00:06:07,954 --> 00:06:09,794 want you to really do, which we can 183 00:06:09,794 --> 00:06:12,410 through Unity Health Hub, is simply enable it 184 00:06:12,410 --> 00:06:14,410 very quickly for me so that I can 185 00:06:14,410 --> 00:06:16,250 test and I can validate. So we'll do 186 00:06:16,250 --> 00:06:18,810 both, Jacob. We'll have a more curated set 187 00:06:18,810 --> 00:06:20,649 of things where we provide proof points and 188 00:06:20,649 --> 00:06:23,209 data, and then we will allow the larger, 189 00:06:23,209 --> 00:06:25,705 more custom employers to say, I've already picked 190 00:06:25,705 --> 00:06:27,305 four or five. Can you do it quickly 191 00:06:27,305 --> 00:06:28,904 for me? So I can get it to 192 00:06:28,904 --> 00:06:30,444 market and find out if it works. 193 00:06:31,545 --> 00:06:33,004 Understood. So so, 194 00:06:33,464 --> 00:06:35,545 a deep vetting process, but then getting this 195 00:06:35,545 --> 00:06:38,264 up quickly for these employers. So, yeah, that 196 00:06:38,264 --> 00:06:39,004 makes sense. 197 00:06:39,750 --> 00:06:41,269 And, you know, we we've also heard you 198 00:06:41,269 --> 00:06:42,790 you mentioned this earlier, Brian, but we've heard 199 00:06:42,790 --> 00:06:44,629 from, health plans over the years as well 200 00:06:44,629 --> 00:06:45,129 of 201 00:06:45,509 --> 00:06:47,850 building, acquiring digital health infrastructure. 202 00:06:48,310 --> 00:06:50,389 It's it it's complicated, and it takes time. 203 00:06:50,389 --> 00:06:53,050 Mhmm. And some companies have seen mixed results. 204 00:06:53,430 --> 00:06:53,930 So, 205 00:06:54,235 --> 00:06:56,715 ultimately, what is the Unity Health Hub do 206 00:06:56,715 --> 00:06:59,275 for the self insured employer for the large 207 00:06:59,275 --> 00:06:59,775 corporation, 208 00:07:00,875 --> 00:07:02,814 that has a good benefits consultant? 209 00:07:03,115 --> 00:07:04,895 What does the Unity Health Hub do, 210 00:07:05,435 --> 00:07:07,595 differently than what that employer maybe could have 211 00:07:07,595 --> 00:07:09,209 pieced together on their own in the past? 212 00:07:09,529 --> 00:07:11,289 Yeah. I I think I think speed is 213 00:07:11,289 --> 00:07:13,709 the biggest thing that we held true there. 214 00:07:14,009 --> 00:07:15,689 And what I mean by speed and and 215 00:07:15,689 --> 00:07:16,189 scalability 216 00:07:16,649 --> 00:07:17,149 is, 217 00:07:17,930 --> 00:07:19,550 when you do those direct integrations 218 00:07:19,930 --> 00:07:22,589 with carriers, whether that's HCSC or anybody, 219 00:07:23,154 --> 00:07:24,995 it's IT work. Right? And it's big, and 220 00:07:24,995 --> 00:07:27,074 it can be cumbersome and feel costly in 221 00:07:27,074 --> 00:07:27,814 long timelines. 222 00:07:28,595 --> 00:07:30,355 By going with a solution like Unity Health 223 00:07:30,355 --> 00:07:33,095 Hub, you you pick a specialist type thing 224 00:07:33,555 --> 00:07:35,634 and have it get really good at doing 225 00:07:35,634 --> 00:07:36,935 that quickly and efficiently, 226 00:07:37,550 --> 00:07:39,550 sharing data standards where you don't have to 227 00:07:39,550 --> 00:07:42,209 do everything as a total custom one off 228 00:07:42,430 --> 00:07:44,589 because you've built a process that is just 229 00:07:44,589 --> 00:07:45,410 hyper efficient 230 00:07:45,870 --> 00:07:47,569 in just that piece of the ecosystem. 231 00:07:48,189 --> 00:07:50,589 And that is a solve that, especially as 232 00:07:50,589 --> 00:07:53,250 you said, upmarket, we hear all the time. 233 00:07:53,524 --> 00:07:54,805 I I wanna try it on my own. 234 00:07:54,805 --> 00:07:56,404 I wanna do this, but that shouldn't take, 235 00:07:56,404 --> 00:07:58,425 you know, an eight to ten month 236 00:07:58,964 --> 00:07:59,785 three party, 237 00:08:00,324 --> 00:08:02,165 IT project to get off the ground. Should 238 00:08:02,165 --> 00:08:03,845 it? It's a question they ask. So we 239 00:08:03,845 --> 00:08:05,925 we think this solves a big part of 240 00:08:05,925 --> 00:08:06,585 that problem. 241 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:09,839 Absolutely. So trying to remove that that big 242 00:08:09,839 --> 00:08:11,699 IT barrier that a lot of employers 243 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:14,800 often face, the the investment time and and 244 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:17,199 money. It's funny by selling it with another 245 00:08:17,199 --> 00:08:19,870 IT company. Right? But one that Yeah. Focuses. 246 00:08:20,595 --> 00:08:22,775 Sure. That makes sense. Yeah. Yeah. Well, 247 00:08:23,154 --> 00:08:25,335 Brian, what else are we missing here? Anything 248 00:08:25,475 --> 00:08:27,714 we haven't touched on about the Unity Health 249 00:08:27,714 --> 00:08:30,435 Hub or anything else you wanna mention while 250 00:08:30,435 --> 00:08:31,634 you've got the ears of a a lot 251 00:08:31,634 --> 00:08:33,794 of other health plan colleagues from around the 252 00:08:33,794 --> 00:08:34,294 country? 253 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:37,199 Yeah. I think the part we maybe didn't 254 00:08:37,199 --> 00:08:38,639 hit as much yet is, like, what is 255 00:08:38,639 --> 00:08:40,639 that gonna feel like to the member, to 256 00:08:40,639 --> 00:08:41,299 the employee? 257 00:08:41,919 --> 00:08:43,839 And so if you picture, you know, their 258 00:08:43,839 --> 00:08:46,399 willingness to step into a carrier's digital app 259 00:08:46,399 --> 00:08:47,325 in the first place, 260 00:08:47,884 --> 00:08:50,285 Once they're there, the Unity Health Hub becomes 261 00:08:50,285 --> 00:08:53,245 a layer that lets them either questionnaire based 262 00:08:53,245 --> 00:08:55,085 or based on something we might know about 263 00:08:55,085 --> 00:08:55,585 them. 264 00:08:56,125 --> 00:08:58,684 The member sees, oh, I could go click 265 00:08:58,684 --> 00:09:01,245 into each of these point solutions now in 266 00:09:01,245 --> 00:09:02,705 one unified journey. 267 00:09:03,700 --> 00:09:05,480 When that Jacob becomes 268 00:09:05,940 --> 00:09:07,959 a separate app or a separate connection, 269 00:09:08,659 --> 00:09:10,259 we find that we lose the member. Right? 270 00:09:10,259 --> 00:09:11,779 They they don't make that leap to go 271 00:09:11,779 --> 00:09:14,419 pull up a different thing and continue their 272 00:09:14,419 --> 00:09:15,799 digital journey there. 273 00:09:16,284 --> 00:09:17,965 So as we roll this out, that's been 274 00:09:17,965 --> 00:09:19,245 a big part of the focus is how 275 00:09:19,245 --> 00:09:20,705 do you keep the member engaged, 276 00:09:21,644 --> 00:09:23,565 seeing this as just a simple extension of 277 00:09:23,565 --> 00:09:25,504 the benefits their employer offers, 278 00:09:26,445 --> 00:09:28,845 and then wanting to to continue to click 279 00:09:28,845 --> 00:09:30,500 through things. So that's the one piece I 280 00:09:30,500 --> 00:09:32,660 would really want people to understand the vision 281 00:09:32,660 --> 00:09:33,160 of. 282 00:09:33,940 --> 00:09:36,420 Yeah. No. And definitely appreciate appreciate you adding 283 00:09:36,420 --> 00:09:38,740 that on there. Very important to for audience 284 00:09:38,740 --> 00:09:40,820 to know ultimately how the member is impacted 285 00:09:40,820 --> 00:09:42,298 by this on the ground at the end 286 00:09:42,298 --> 00:09:42,904 of the day. 287 00:09:43,764 --> 00:09:45,605 Brian, I really appreciate you taking the time 288 00:09:45,605 --> 00:09:47,524 to chat with us about this and and 289 00:09:47,524 --> 00:09:49,764 looking forward, to hearing how this all goes 290 00:09:49,764 --> 00:09:50,424 for you, 291 00:09:50,804 --> 00:09:53,205 as this continues to roll out. Really appreciate 292 00:09:53,205 --> 00:09:54,804 it. Yeah. Happy to do it. Maybe we 293 00:09:54,804 --> 00:09:56,929 get back together when, when it's got some 294 00:09:56,929 --> 00:09:58,769 miles on it and talk about some successes. 295 00:09:58,769 --> 00:10:01,169 That would be great. So Absolutely. Door's open 296 00:10:01,169 --> 00:10:03,269 anytime. Thanks for chatting with us. 297 00:10:03,649 --> 00:10:05,649 Thank you. And to our listeners, if you'd 298 00:10:05,649 --> 00:10:07,570 like to listen to more podcasts from Becker's 299 00:10:07,570 --> 00:10:11,045 HealthCare, you can visit beckershospitalreview.com.