We’re always happy for the chance to talk about the well-being accomplishments of our clients. Recently, we sat down with Security Health Plan of Wisconsin during an AHIP webinar. If you missed the session, you can get all the details here, including how Security Health Plan and WebMD Health Services partner together to ensure that every member receives a personalized approach to their well-being.
About Security Health Plan.
Security Health Plan, part of the Marshfield Clinic Health System, is a 51-year old HMO based in Wisconsin and has been a client of WebMD Health Services since 2016. The first rural HMO in the industry, Security was founded to ensure that Wisconsin’s farmers, factory workers, and teachers could have access to health care at an affordable price. It’s since grown into a plan that serves over 219,000 members in 72 Wisconsin counties.
We chatted with Dave Scheuer, Security Health Plan’s Manager of Wellness and Health Promotion, to learn about what Security is doing to serve their members – which range from large and small businesses, to individuals and families, to Medicare and Medicaid recipients.
Dave started the conversation by sharing his overall well-being philosophy: educating, supporting and motivating individuals to achieve their level of personal health and wellness. That really resonated with us; at WebMD Health Services we also seek to meet participants wherever they happen to be in their well-being journey.
Here’s what else sets Security Health Plan apart from other carriers:
Excellence in customer service.
Dave attributes this to the fact that customer service representatives are dedicated to making sure that members feel heard and that their issue is resolved in the first call. As Dave shared, “We don’t want to give our members homework.” Customer service representatives also live in the communities they serve, giving them an extra incentive to satisfy members.
A constantly evolving partnership with WebMD Health Services.
The relationship between Security and WebMD Health Services has evolved over the years to continuously improve the programs and solutions we offer to members. Specifically, we work closely with the Health Plan to get members engaged in their well-being using these key program elements:
- Online Health Assessment – According to Dave, the Health Assessment is key to helping Security’s participants understand their health risks and make a plan to address them. Now that they’re on WebMD ONE, Security is happy to take advantage of the expanded question sets that address the social determinants of health and healthy equity.
- Wellness at Your Side app – The ability to access wellness program information on a tablet or mobile device is critical and increases the likelihood that people will engage with the program.
- Health tracker – Dave shared that having a secure place for participants to store biometric screening data isn’t only convenient, but also safer than using third-party trackers.
- Daily Habits – From smoking cessation to coping with the blues, SHP finds these programs are great complements to their in-person and telephonic health coaching. And they love that there are always new programs every few months!
- Health coaching – Using results from the Health Assessment and annual preventive care exam, coaches can put together a plan to address specific health needs and create real behavior change.
It’s great to see Security Health Plan taking advantage of the resources and tools on our platform to get their members engaged. Of course, as with all well-being programs, we mutually acknowledged that constantly communicating about what’s on offer is key. Bi-weekly check ins help the team stay up-to-date with product enhancements and offerings.
A commitment to Wisconsin communities.
Security Health Plan regularly partners with and invests in programs that improve the health and well-being of Wisconsin’s communities. To make sure that they stay focused on “doing the right thing for our neighbors,” Dave shared their four investment priorities:
- Alcohol and substance use
- Behavioral health
- Chronic disease
- Social determinants of health
Here are a few of the successful programs Security Health Plan has sponsored:
- b.e.s.t. program (behavioral emotional social traits) – This program provides children with skills to identify and manage emotions through weekly one-hour group sessions facilitated by a school counselor or social worker. In 2020-2021, 17 districts participated in the program and served over 200 children.
- Reducing food insecurity – Twenty-two percent of children are food-insecure in Clark County, Wisconsin, and Security wanted to do something about it. They worked with community partners to create 36 hydroponic garden systems in four different schools, and taught children and adults the importance of farming systems, eating healthy, sustainability, and growing their own healthy food.
- Diabetes in Medicaid participants – This pilot program addressed diabetes care for the Medicaid population and food insecurity. Members diagnosed with diabetes who connected with a health coach 1-2 times per month received a box of food that met diabetes dietary guidelines. Although the program is still in pilot, early feedback indicates that the box of food was a great way to keep people engaged in their health and even led to weight loss.
We couldn’t agree more that focusing on community brings multiple benefits – not only to the individuals who are directly impacted, but also in fostering that human connection that is so important in our increasingly isolated world. This type of investment in community is really a pillar of well-being for so many of our clients now.
A focus on engaging Medicare and Medicaid populations.
Dave and I spoke about the challenges of addressing the health care needs of Medicare and Medicaid populations. One of these challenges is how to understand and tackle barriers that limit initial engagement with the well-being program.
Dave described how Security is using the WebMD ONE platform to boost Health Assessment completion and reach out to participants about the importance of receiving a preventive exam. He describes these two activities as the “gateway” into the well-being program.
Security Health Plan recently allowed Medicare and Medicaid members to access the Health Assessment through the WebMD portal, versus going through the Security Health Plan’s online member site. This improved access drove completion rates up by 40%. Security also employed outreach efforts to participants who didn’t engage: if no engagement occurred within 30 days, the participant received a letter with instructions for accessing the Health Assessment; if after 45 days the member had still not engaged, they received an IVR call.
Security also uses incentives to encourage participants to have a preventive care visit with a primary care physician. Data from the preventive care visit is invaluable in directing participants to the right programs – whether it’s condition management, health coaching, or receiving educational materials at home.
This multi-pronged strategy for engagement is working. Security Health Plan reports that from July to November 2022 they achieved an 81% Health Assessment completion rate for all registered Medicaid members.
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From community partnerships to getting participants quickly engaged to top-notch customer service and seamless integration with the WebMD ONE platform, Security Health Plan is working tirelessly to improve the health of participants across Wisconsin.
As Dave shared at the end of the session, “Our members are our ‘why’. We treat people how they would like to be treated. Our mission is to enrich lives and we’ll continue to provide innovative services to improve the health of our members and those in the communities we serve.”
To learn how WebMD Services can help your health plan members improve their well-being, visit our website or contact us at connect@webmd.net.
