Health Plan Strategies to Improve Public Health

Dr. Lisa Latts, Vice President of Programs in Clinical Excellence, WellPoint Clinical Health Policy
Patricia Heiler, Public Health Consultant, Michigan Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program
Moderators: Sarah O'Leary, MPH, MA, and Cynthia Morrison, MSPH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Session Objective

The objectives for this session are to:

Identify shared goals of health plans and public health.
Identify how health plans can contribute to disease management.
Give examples of health plan programs and services that contribute to disease management, quality improvement, and cost savings.
Identify barriers to changes in health plans for better disease management and strategies.
Identify potential partners to implement health plan changes and quality improvement measures.

Session Summary

This session includes a presentation on how one large health plan is working collaboratively with physicians, employers, academic medical centers and state and federal agencies to improve health care quality and affordability. In this session, representatives from a State Program discuss their efforts to collaborate with health plans to reduce hypertension and high cholesterol. Participants then identify opportunities for collaboration with partners in their states.

This session includes a small group discussion using guided questions. Participants identify current or potential health plan or worksite partners to implement changes in health plans that promote improved health and or disease management. Participants discuss past or potential challenges and successes in implementing changes, and identify next steps they can take to engage health plans and worksites.