Leaders who aim to make health equity a reality are tasked with rethinking traditional models, using data more strategically and cultivating local partnerships.
“I use a simple, people-centered definition. I like to think of health equity as a state where everyone has a just and fair opportunity to be as healthy as possible,” Yvette LeFebvre, Chief Medical Officer, Home-Based Care, Evernorth Health Services, said during a Nov. 6 panel at the Becker’s Fall Payer Issues Roundtable. “From a provider’s perspective, we’re approaching health equity by focusing on our population health strategy. Our first challenge is gathering the data to identify populations that aren’t on a level playing field and aren’t benefiting from the current care model. Once we have the data and can identify these groups, we can meet patients where they are. For me, that means sending providers into homes and delivering care directly to the patients.”
John Cordier, CEO of data software company Epistemix, argues that there is no “one-size-fits-all solution” and that it is essential to identify what’s happening across different populations and capture the local context.
“When looking at things across a state or within a city, from zip code to zip code or neighborhood to neighborhood, we might find that one intervention works in one area but falls flat in another,” Mr. Cordier said. “This often happens because we’re not capturing the local context, which is crucial, especially when it comes to community partnerships.”
Devon Zoller, MD, associate medical director of Cleveland Clinic Employee Health Plan, added that healthcare also needs to acknowledge that health disparities exist and that they represent preventable differences between populations.
“But if we look at these more deeply, health equity work often involves trying to eradicate those disparities, and data partnerships are instrumental in this,” Dr. Zoller said. “Let’s take a broad topic like lung cancer as an example: about 5-11% of eligible people are screened for it, which results in a significant gap in early detection. If we dig further, we know that around 85% of lung cancer in the U.S.is linked to secondary smoking. And smoking rates are closely tied to education and income levels. The higher your education and income, the less likely you are to smoke. So, lower education and income levels correlate with higher rates of lung cancer. This example shows how social determinants impact health behaviors and disparities.”
Nondas Sourlas, chief data officer of data analytics company Blue Health Intelligence, emphasized the role of health plans in improving health equity by expanding provider networks and using data to understand individual and area-specific needs.
“There’s also room to adjust benefits structures to better target different groups,” Mr. Sourlas said. “For instance, BMI thresholds for obesity might vary by population, so benefits should be designed to reflect those differences and meet specific needs.”
