An Underserved Population

This is a picture of my youngest two sons, Sammy, and Alexander aka “Jake”.? The two boys are often confused as being my grandchildren, given my age of 64.? The truth is, they keep me young and are blessings in my hectic world.?

Jake has Autism. ?When people hear this news, a significant portion tell me “How sorry” they are to hear about it.? We as a family embrace who he is, and the joy he brings us.? Autism and Autistic children are not something to be “fixed” or “cured”.? Instead, they are someone who often times have otherwise unrecognized potential and capabilities that need to be tapped into.?

During these early stages of our family’s journey, we have been fortunate enough to be welcomed into a community of professionals and families who share a devotion and commitment to optimizing the lives of autistic children and adults.?

The process around diagnosing and helping those with Autism is challenging, at best.? This is not because of ill intention by anyone we have encountered, but instead a lack of integration of the care solutions needed to help assess and treat these children, in order to enrich their lives.?

I have never met Risk Strategies Chairman, Michael Christian .? Recently, he was honored for his commitment to REED Autism Services . Ironically, one of the founders of Reed, is Richard Klinenberg , a friend and colleague employed at Evernorth Health Services ? This is a small, but growing community.? It has led me to other senior leaders in the Insurance and Healthcare industries, including Ken Goulet , Tim Wentworth , Marty Jackson, Glen Stettin, MD , Roger Holstein , Eva Borden , and the many individuals each has connected me to in my quest to do as much as possible for Jake and other young people who need our help and commitment.

Jake is fortunate in that we as a family are blessed with the needed resources to help him.? Other children and families are not so fortunate.? This is a serious health equity issue.? Many young people and their families are not able to access the needed diagnostic, treatment, and other needed forms of support.? This is both a quality of life and moral imperative.?

Risk Strategies Consulting (RSC) has been researching and publishing on a number of healthcare issues.? We are in the midst of developing a platform that defines Return on Investment (ROI) based upon the four pillars of cost savings, clinical outcomes, member experience, and health equity.? We are also in the midst of researching and publishing a piece on pediatric care.? One in seven young people are diagnosed as being “on the spectrum”.? There is little to no consideration around clinical outcomes, member experience, and health equity.?

As with other diagnoses there are traditional and non-traditional modalities and means of care.? This includes holistic medicine- which addresses diet, as well as physician-types, who focus on the “primitive reflexes” and left brain-right brain “imbalance” that need to be acknowledged and treated.? ?The work of these physicians is almost always considered an uncovered service under a family’s medical plan.? This means significant cash outlays for families who cannot afford the needed services.?

With the approval and support of John Greenbaum , who runs the Employee Benefits division at Risk Strategies Company , RSC will be undertaking a major initiative to help lead in creating solutions to help enrich the outcomes and lives of individuals with Autism and their families.? We realize that, like other types of care delivery, resources vary by location.? For instance, there is a shortage of needed professionals making access and timeliness of care into major roadblocks for improvement.?

If you have had the time to read this post, I am asking you to think about your ability and willingness to help us drive to a better set of solutions for this of-need population.? Help is welcomed from all corners.? Please think about where you can fit into helping a just cause.?