Reflections on 2022: Building a Better System of Health

Last week, I had the honor to speak at Forbes Healthcare Summit alongside accomplished leaders working to make health care more equitable and affordable for all Americans.

Every time I have the opportunity to participate in conversations like these, I am encouraged by our shared commitment toward making high-quality care accessible to the most vulnerable communities, who are subject to poorer health outcomes and higher costs.

Much like the health care ecosystem itself, issues of affordability and equity are deeply complex and require our sustained effort to advance solutions. Though these challenges are persistent and thus all the more urgent, I can’t help but reflect on some of the progress made in the past year.

Reimaging equity in health care

In 2022, Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) companies have sharpened their commitments to maternal health, working with policymakers, community partners and health systems to address the many underlying factors contributing to the crisis. At Aspen Ideas: Health, we reiterated our National Health Equity Strategy and shared 10 tangible equity actions for organizations to adopt to join us in our efforts to reverse maternal health disparities.

Still, a changing landscape of access to reproductive care, an ongoing mental health crisis and a shortage of qualified professionals are pushing pregnancy-related complication trends in the wrong direction—disproportionately so for women of color. As I recently wrote, we know change begins with robust data to inform where gaps exist and where resources should be allocated. We’ve since convened experts to advocate for and create national standards to collect race, ethnicity and language data in a trusted way so we can more effectively measure our impact.

Importantly, decreasing inequities in care includes addressing the root causes of disparities. BCBS companies have continuously invested in social drivers of health, including a $489M investment in community health initiatives, $19M contributed to disaster relief efforts and more than 1.5M pounds of food served or donated last year.

Making high-quality health care more affordable

BCBSA and BCBS companies also renewed their commitments to addressing the underlying cost of care.

A historic partnership with CivicaRx advanced a shared goal of bringing lower-cost prescription medication directly to consumers. This summer, the first CivicaScript generic drug entered the market: a prostate cancer treatment saving approximately $3K monthly for someone with Medicare Part D. BCBSA and several BCBS companies also partnered with The Civica Foundation’s insulin initiative to manufacture and distribute affordable insulin at a patient price of $30 or less per vial.

Our affordability efforts are underpinned by advocacy for key legislation that improves health care for the individuals we serve. BCBSA and BCBS companies strongly advocated for the historic Inflation Reduction Act, which extended the ACA’s premium tax credits, helping millions more Americans get the care they need. We also played a key role in the passage of the No Surprises Act, protecting patients from incurring thousands of dollars in surprise medical bills. Our latest analysis, in partnership with AHIP, found the Act has protected 9M Americans.

We also continued to champion a wide range of COVID-19 support measures during the ongoing public health crisis, including promoting broad access to at-home COVID testing and advocating for the 15M people that could lose Medicaid coverage at the end of the public health emergency.

Creating meaningful change

Our advancements build on notable progress from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services—which made advancing health equity its chief priority, outlining actions to drive whole-system change—and the White House—which released a thorough blueprint for reducing maternal complications and mortality, especially among women of color.

Each of these actions represents strong momentum in the right direction. But as I’ve said before, to make meaningful and lasting change, we must move beyond creating a better health care system. As my two-year anniversary of leading the Association approaches in January, I am excited about building on the work we’ve begun to create a better system of health—one where affordable, equitable care is an expectation, not an exception.

Let’s continue the momentum—together.?