Select Health, the nonprofit insurance arm of Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Health, has a new leader at the helm of its largest market, but he is no stranger to the company or local healthcare community.
In July, Sean Dunroe was named market president of Select Health's Canyons Region, which includes Utah and Idaho. He has been with Select Health since 1997 and most recently served as chief strategy officer and president of ACA markets. He also spent four years working in strategic planning on the health system side of the business.
Mr. Dunroe shared with Becker's that the majority of Select Health's more than 1 million members are covered under value-based arrangements. His work now will focus on strengthening those relationships with providers and piloting initiatives to identify members' needs faster.
Question: Why did you want to take on this role leading the company's largest market?
Sean Dunroe: It's very exciting to me with Select Health and Intermountain expanding into other regions. We share the same mission to help people live the healthiest lives possible. Since this region is where Intermountain is based, it's where we at Select Health have the most opportunity to really deliver on an integrated value proposition and a complete continuum of care.
In addition to Intermountain's assets and providers, Select Health has a network of highly aligned affiliate providers and specialists, many of whom are part of very sophisticated provider groups that take on financial risk through value-based payment arrangements. Here in the Canyons Region, there is a significant opportunity for us to deliver higher value to the customers that we serve. The other thing about this region that's different from other markets is that we serve all population segments through Medicare Advantage, managed Medicaid and all commercial segments.
Q: What do you believe is the biggest challenge facing Select Health today?
SD: Healthcare always has challenges and that's what makes it such an exciting industry. I have a tendency to think more about the challenges that consumers face and how some of those haven't really changed over time. Cost is always a challenge, or helping a member navigate the complex health system through a time of crisis. In some markets, accessing a provider can be difficult.
But the biggest challenge that I see is really engaging people in maintaining and improving their health. We want to engage members upstream before their health becomes a crisis, and that's a challenge that continues to elude us. We're getting better at it, but it's difficult because there's no single answer and everybody's different.
Q: Where do you envision Select Health breaking away from traditional care models to become more user-friendly for members across different demographics and geographies?
SD: We invest together with Intermountain to deploy virtual services such as primary care, urgent care visit, or specialists in an urban center providing outreach and support to providers and patients in a rural area.
We've been in value-based risk contracts with multiple health systems for quite some time, but it's a journey. Our value proposition is enhanced when we're really partnered with providers, including those that are in our network as a health plan but not employed by Intermountain. We are committed to a future of value-based care. When we're sitting down with providers, our job is to help them navigate to the service, make sure they know what's available, and make sure they're getting the services they need, particularly if it's upstream — that's how we will improve the value that we deliver.
As we branch out into other areas as Intermountain or Select Health, we're able to apply those best practices across different organizations, geographies and markets. Hopefully, we're learning from one another and cross pollinating those ideas and new methods of care delivery throughout the organization.
Q: What innovative strategies are you pursuing to address social determinants in your market?
SD: We have the opportunity of working closely with a health system, so we have a lot of initiatives and investments from both Intermountain and Select Health. The big key is having the right data so we know which issues people are facing so that we can intervene. There's a lot of community resources available, so it's really a matter of identifying needs in the patient population and routing them appropriately. We've piloted several programs, and the big focus for us right now is on the data and better understanding the members that we're covering.
Q: What are your industry peers not talking about enough right now?
SD: There's a lot of talk about value-based care, but it's really difficult for some organizations to move from that fee-for-service mentality to one where you're really focusing on keeping people out of the hospital and healthy. At the end of the day, you've got to have alignment from the top of the organization to the bottom, and that's a difficult change. I also think there's a lot more partnership opportunities that people are willing to explore now. We don't really need to compete in every situation — we can collaborate and work together for the benefit of the community.