Allina Health

Mike Koroscik

Achieving health equity is complicated, and it isn’t something that healthcare organizations can do entirely on their own. Today, as healthcare organizations address the needs of population health, dynamic collaboration is needed. An ecosystem in which payers, providers, community organizations, policy and advocacy groups, and other entities work together to effect change.

Collaborating with the health equity ecosystem requires key players to think deliberately about the care continuum. When looking specifically at the role healthcare organizations can play, it depends on the organization and its internal capacity.

At Allina Health, a large health system based in Minneapolis, optimizing the clinical encounter is critical. Healthcare organizations have a unique and privileged position currently to seek funding, support, and legislation that advances health equity. Their position within the local healthcare ecosystem, combined with their existing resources, can enable them to effectively bring together other members of that ecosystem. Healthcare organizations can also push the boundaries of traditional roles by partnering with other types of organizations that will enable patients to stay healthy over the long term.

For example, Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) can work with health systems to identify high-need Medicaid enrollees. And they can work with communitybased organizations (CBOs) that serve under-resourced populations to provide and pay for evidence-based nonmedical services, such as nutrition, housing, transportation, education, employment support, and interpersonal and toxic stress management. Various states are using the Medicaid 1115 waivers as a vehicle to improve access to social support for populations with high and complex needs, streamline payment to CBOs, and integrate access and financing of social supports into the mainstream delivery of healthcare

No matter what role your organization plays in the ecosystem, finding where your organization has a unique edge and leaning in will enable everyone to maximize their contributions.

It’s through this collaborative approach paired with prevention and upstream interventions for social determinants of health, robust data, and a sustainable funding model that organizations will truly start to see progress. When it comes to a robust data strategy, organizations need to look at where disparities or inequities exist today for different patient populations, Starting with this focused, data-driven approach helps organizations define clear solutions. It also means there will be a more realistic number of key performance indicators (KPIs) to track and partners to coordinate, both of which can lead to more successful outcomes.

Organizations must also look closely at their health needs assessments. Questions to be asked: What programs are already in place to address these needs? How can you transform? Once there’s some internal consensus around that, it’s about design leaders who will be accountable for bringing other partners along. Moving forward, the key will be bridging stakeholders from across the ecosystem around shared objectives and aligned economic incentives. Organizations often start this process by convening to develop a common vision for under-resourced communities or patient segments, identifying key metrics or outcomes of interest, and developing funding pathways for effective, value-based care models.

Healthcare organizations, such as Allina Health, are pursuing transformative partnerships to address longstanding disparities in areas such as behavioral health, cancer care, chronic disease, and maternal and infant health. These collaborations rest on effective care and delivery models, aligned economic models, and community trust. It’s clear that dramatically advancing health equity will require the involvement of multiple entities across the ecosystem. As more entities come together and collaborate, leveraging their unique strengths and capabilities, more communities will realize equitable health.