California's Most Vulnerable Get Boost in Access to Health Care by Data Driven Human Outreach and Relentless Drive for Simplicity, Report Finds

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May 12, 2022, 11:00 ET

Creating Human Connections, Meeting Patients Where They Are, and Keeping Solutions Simple among Key Best Practices to Improving Access and Driving Health Equity

SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Health Net, one of California's longest serving and most experienced Medi-Cal partners, today released new research outlining best practices for expanding access to care as well as reducing health disparities among some of the state's most vulnerable residents.

"Health Net knows we must use data and be innovative to improve the lives of our members," said Martha Santana-Chin, Medi-Cal President of Health Net. "Our company's latest industry report, Innovating Within Medi-Cal, is informed by our most impactful investments, interventions, and collaborations with partners across California to expand access and drive health equity. We can all leverage these insights from across the state as we work collectively to improve the health of our communities."

Among the report's key findings to help improve access to care and reduce health disparities include:

Leverage Data to Identify At-Risk Populations and Ground Interventions in Human Connection: Utilizing improved analytics and multiple data sources, identify patients and populations who face one or more barriers to care, and design interventions based on human connections.
Solutions Shouldn't Be Complex – Simplicity is Key: Innovations should strive to reduce complexity. The simplest solutions are often the most effective for both patients and providers within Medi-Cal.
Meet Patients Where They Are by Identifying Channels They Trust: Proactively find ways to reach and support patients in ways that make them feel most comfortable. Engage and activate the right local partners to meet patients where they are and deliver care in a manner that's familiar and trusted.

"Health Net leverages patient data, analytics and algorithms to drive human interventions," said Dr. Pooja Mittal, Chief Health Equity Officer, Health Net. "This focus and long-term investment has enabled us to not only identify, but also predict, the populations facing the greatest barriers to care. We then design and implement interventions that meet patients where they are, address their needs, and ultimately close gaps in health outcomes."

With decades of experience as a partner with government healthcare agencies, Health Net has honed the ability to carefully steward public resources and improve access to quality care for those who need it most. In fact, today, two-thirds of Health Net's members are Medi-Cal enrollees who often face unique barriers to care and tend to experience poorer health outcomes as a result.

According to the report, Health Net recommends the following strategies to boost access to care and improve health equity:

Continue to invest in patient data infrastructure and coordination;
Understand how population health trends enable delivery of more personalized care;
Leverage patient analytics as a tool to build greater human connection;
Reject dated assumptions about technology adoption;
For some access issues, there's not an App for that;
Prioritize local solutions that reduce complexity;
Think outside the doctor's office to meet patients where they are;
Design interventions that require minimal behavior change.

In addition to these and other operational innovations, Health Net has invested more than $100 million since 2017 to support over 500 community-based initiatives in California to bridge the divide in access to care. The result of these collaborations helped to inform the report, along with firsthand insights from the company's partners across the safety net.

Learn more and read the full report at Bridging the Divide. Read other Health Net reports on addressing health equity, workforce development and leveraging telehealth here.

About Health Net:
At Health Net, we believe every person deserves a safety net for their health, regardless of age, income, employment status or current state of health. Founded in California more than 40 years ago, we're dedicated to transforming the health of our community, one person at a time. Today, Health Net's 2,600 employees and 90,000 network providers serve 3 million members. That's nearly 1 in 12 Californians. We provide health plans for individuals, families, businesses of every size and people who qualify for Medi-Cal or Medicare — Coverage for Every Stage of Life™. Health Net also offers access to substance abuse programs, behavioral health services, employee assistance programs and managed health care products related to prescription drugs. We offer these health plans and services through Health Net, LLC and its subsidiaries: Health Net of California, Inc., Health Net Life Insurance Company and Health Net Community Solutions, Inc. These entities are wholly owned subsidiaries of Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC). For more information, visit www.HealthNet.com.

SOURCE Health Net