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It’s almost time to say goodbye to 2022, but not before we take a moment to reflect on a big year for patients, health plans, employers and providers.
The past 12 months brought many changes to the healthcare ecosystem as we ramped up our recovery from COVID-19 and started to look forward to new challenges in the future.
Health equity is among the most important targets for the year to come. Stakeholders truly took health disparities to heart this year as the pandemic highlighted deeply rooted concerns with the way we address the social determinants of health (SDOH).
Our top five blog stories clearly reflect this growing focus on equity, particularly for high-risk, high-complexity beneficiaries of Medicare Advantage (MA) plans.
We strongly believe that medication adherence is the fulcrum health plans need to simultaneously provide holistic, socioeconomically sensitive care for their members and trigger growth for their business—and it looks like our readers are on the same page, too. We’re eager to see how the industry tackles these important issues in the year to come, as well.
Here are our most-read blog posts from 2022:
1. Beating the Odds in Medicare Advantage’s “Survival of the Fittest” Environment
It’s a “jungle out there” for MA plans, who have to continually innovate to stay one step ahead of their competitors. And to rise to the top of the food chain, MA plans have to implement high-impact strategies to boost their Star Ratings.
In this article, we explore the benefits of performing well on the Star Ratings system and the risks of falling behind. What does it take to survive in this Darwinist environment?
2. Connecting High-Risk, Hard-to-Reach Members with Reliable and Personalized Medication Information
Health plan members are overloaded with healthcare communications, but still aren’t always getting the relevant, trustworthy, accurate information they need to make optimal decisions about their care.
High-risk, chronically unengaged members are among the least likely to adhere to their medications and work with their providers in the best possible way. So how can health plans change that equation? In this post, we take a look at actionable strategies for cutting through the noise and communicating with hard-to-reach members.
3. To Achieve True Health Equity, We Need to Start Asking the Right Questions
Health equity is at the heart of CMS’s strategic vision for the next five years. But what does equity mean on a local level, and how do we achieve it? We need to leverage advanced analytics technologies and person-centered care strategies to understand the gaps in the system—and close them in a culturally sensitive manner.
This article breaks down the challenges ahead and offers actionable steps for asking the right questions and deploying the right answers into the community.
4. Three Strategies to Engage High-Risk Members and Boost Medicare Advantage Star Ratings
For even more actionable information, check out this blog on engaging high-risk members around medication adherence. In this piece, we outline three data-driven steps for MA plans to connect with members, measurably improve their medication adherence, and achieve their Star Ratings goals as a result.
5. Falls in Older Adults: An Untold Toll of Medication Nonadherence
Older health plan members taking multiple medications often struggle to stay on top of their medication adherence routines. Failing to take medications as prescribed can worsen chronic disease symptoms—and can lead to additional side effects like increased fall risks.
Medication reconciliation and safety checks help reduce the likelihood of prescription interactions that contribute to fall risks. Meanwhile, supporting seniors in their routine medication adherence can ensure that they are not setting themselves up for a problem by exacerbating their existing conditions.
In this piece, we look at the role of medication adherence in falls for under adults and suggest solutions to this all-too-common problem.
In a year filled with change, it’s important for health plans to focus on developing health equity within the member population and improve adherence through concentrated efforts that help high-risk members overcome SDOH barriers—now and as we launch forward into the New Year.
Thank you for being a blog reader in 2022! We wish you a happy holiday season and we hope you join us for more great content to come in 2023.
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