Prioritizing Social Needs

Dr. Shantanu Agrawal:

We are really lucky to be in a number of communities around this country, able to serve millions of members. That's an incredible gift and opportunity for us, and we need to make sure that our social needs solution matches that scale. And so, what we did is we created a program called Community Connected Care. The sole purpose of that program is to get in front of our members, assess them for the social needs they might have, and then work to get those members connected to community-based organizations and really get those needs met.

Eduardo Muñoz:

My name is Eduardo Muñoz. I had problems with the sciatic nerve, and it already felt impossible to walk. I was in a wheelchair. Well, it was a difficult time for me. Above all was that I didn’t know many things about the medical plan I have.

Dr. Shantanu Agrawal:

You know, Eduardo, in many respects, is like a lot of our members who have these unmet social needs. He was going to the E.R. a lot for a variety of issues. And so, we identified Eduardo looking at our own data. And it turns out then that one of his major barriers was actually a language barrier. And so that was one thing that we did right away, is we just got him connected to care, with providers who would speak Spanish. One of the partners we work with is Partners in Care Foundation, who could ask him about his social needs and work to get them addressed.

June Simmons:

Partners in Care is a not-for-profit. It was founded to help people who are facing challenges that threaten their ability to live safely in the community.

Dr. Shantanu Agrawal:

Community-based organizations are a critical set of partners. By working in their communities, by knowing their communities, they can bring solutions to bear that we wouldn't have without them.

June Simmons:

Community agencies are critical to delivery of service, but Elevance Health and its full corporate resources and clinical resources are critical to finding the people and making those changes possible.

Ester Sefilyan:

Each individual in a community is very different from one another. So, our community organizations, like Partners in Care, are able to support individuals and meet them where they're at by being able to speak their languages and being able to connect them to resources and services that really align with their needs and the gaps in care.

Rosa Laporta:

The first time I talked to him, he was using a wheelchair. He didn't know how to ask for the help that he needed.

Dr. Shantanu Agrawal:

We have to create programs like this. Without programs like this, what ends up happening is people will end up in E.R.s or get hospitalized, and it's bad for their quality of life and the quality of care that they're getting. By making the member's life better, by focusing on the member, we not only meet our business goals, we meet, more importantly, our mission goals.

Eduardo Muñoz:

Partners in Care Foundation and working with Rosa, it opened me and gave me hope to feel confident again. Same thing with my health insurance company. It has opened many paths for me, many doors. It helped my family a lot. My relationship with my wife has changed. I can go out with my children. I can walk, make a life, and I feel that I have self-reliance in my life again.