In early May 2021 I attended “How Benefits Can Address Racial Inequity,” a thought- provoking session co-hosted by the Pittsburgh Business Group on Health. Much the same way Covid-19 highlighted in healthcare, the same issue burdens employer-based health plans.
Members with diverse characteristics (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, disability) simply don’t consume the health plan at the same rates as the majority of the population. Low utilization exists for so many reasons including, but not limited to literacy, health literacy, financial, SDoH, cultural beliefs, provider availability, and provider comfort.
IMHO one of the glaring issues with low utilization is it’s anecdotal. And why is it anecdotal? That’s simple. Because medical and pharmacy claims data EXCLUDES race data. In fact, in the same session there was a poll – only 12% of employers include race data with claims data!
In the words of one of the greatest business minds, Peter Drucker the issue is “if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” Guess what? Without race data you can’t measure it which means you can’t improve it! Want to learn more? Kindly contact us – we can show you how.