The Minnesota Legislature just wrapped up one of its busiest – and, yes, largely virtual – special sessions that included a two-year budget deal and legislation that will positively impact the health of Minnesotans amid the pandemic and beyond.
Bukata Hayes, VP of Racial & Health Equity for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, has spent 20 years advocating for racial and social justice. His role was created to serve as an advisor and partner, helping leaders effect lasting change and apply a racial and equity lens to every aspect of the organization.
Dr. Julia Joseph-Di Caprio, Chief Medical Officer for UCare, and Pleasant Radford, Jr., Health Equity Officer for UCare, are creating bridges that will bring about better care for diverse populations. UCare is looking at everything from provider engagement to their internal functions to ensure equity.
Dr. Abbie Miller, PreferredOne’s Chief Medical Officer, has placed an acute focus on health equity. As a physician, she knows firsthand how critical it is to address health disparities in a meaningful way to improve patient outcomes.
Michael Webber, Hennepin Health’s Analytics and Health Economics Manager, works directly with vulnerable communities to find solutions that will enable better health care. This involves intentional listening, learning — and doing.
Dr. Patrick Courneya, Chief Health Plan Medical Officer for HealthPartners, and his team are making major changes to address health disparities in Minnesota. This includes building an antiracist culture at HealthPartners and increasing the diversity of health plan leadership by 100%.
Recognizing how pervasive health disparities are in our state, health plans like Medica are looking at everything from workforce diversity and training to ways in which they can better deliver care and access to communities of color.
Staffers from the Council’s member health plans discuss what drove them to get vaccinated against COVID-19, why they feel it’s critical to be an example for others in the community and how they overcame vaccine hesitancy.
From helping vaccinate our health care heroes to hitting the road in modified city buses to reach underserved communities, Minnesota’s nonprofit health plans are rolling out creative strategies to fight the COVID-19 outbreak and build confidence around the vaccine.