WASHINGTON, DC–(Marketwired – Mar 30, 2017) –  The National Business Group on Health, a non-profit association of 420 large U.S. employers, today honored Cigna, GlaxoSmithKline, and Health Net, Inc. for their ongoing commitment to promote health equity and reduce health care disparities in the workplace. The three companies were presented with “Innovation in Advancing Health Equity Awards” at the National Business Group on Health’s 2017 Business Health Agenda conference.

In presenting the awards, Brian Marcotte, president and CEO of the National Business Group on Health, said, “We are delighted to recognize Cigna, GlaxoSmithKline, and Health Net for their support and dedication to advance health equity and reduce health care disparities through workplace and community initiatives. These companies are leading the way to addressing health care disparities and demonstrating that promoting health equity and reducing disparities can help employees and their families achieve optimal health and well-being.”

The key components of the award-winning programs are:

• Innovative approaches and solutions to address disparities, promote health equity and helping all employees achieve optimal health and well-being;
• Analyses of disparities/health equity data to determine gaps in care;
• The use of segmented and culturally and linguistically appropriate communications; and
• Results the programming has on the employee population and/or community.

Cigna

Cigna’s strong commitment to cultivating a state of health equity in the marketplace by deploying strategic and operational resources to improve access to high quality care is evident through their continued momentum over the years. Cigna works closely with employers, consumers and health advocates to eliminate health disparities and advance health equity. Notable this year is Cigna’s nationwide program America Says Ahh, to improve preventive care and encourage annual check-ups. A key feature of the campaign is the TV Doctors of America commercials featuring five famous TV doctors. In addition, for Cigna’s “real life” doctors and network clinicians, they created and delivered an in-depth cultural competency training, with an emphasis on engaging Hispanic patients. Also notable is the use of geospatial information systems to identify health disparities — one prime example is mapping a disparity in breast cancer screening in African-American women in Tennessee. Cigna used their predictive model to segment the population and sent tailored reminders regarding screening. Cigna continues to integrate health equity internally and externally through innovative programming and strives to improve the health and well-being of those individuals.

GlaxoSmithKline

GlaxoSmithKline’s is dedicated to supporting the health and well-being of its employees and their families, as well as providing equitable access to care. GSK’s unique Partnership for Prevention (P4P) program provides employees and family members with access to up to 40 preventive health care services at low to no cost. This impressive program is launching across the GSK enterprise and is currently available in 77 countries and covers 110,000 lives. GSK plans to have launched across the whole enterprise by 2018. The program addresses multiple barriers to better care including awareness, cost, geography and culture. The program focuses on analyzing, identifying, and addressing gaps in access to high-quality preventive services for all benefits-eligible employees and dependents. GSK’s commitment to the P4P program reinforces its on-going efforts to support the long-term health and well-being of its employees and their families. GSK continues to provide equitable access to care while fostering a culture of energy and health.

Health Net, Inc.

Health Net’s efforts to reduce disparities and advance health equity include several multipronged interventions within California. Its use of geospatial mapping helps target disparity-reduction efforts, access to care issues, and secure 95 percent of members’ race and ethnicity data. Health Net established a Health Equity Advisory workgroup and implemented a disparity-reduction model utilizing a multidimensional approach to improving quality and delivery of care involving the community, provider, member and system-level touch points. Health Net’s innovative Childhood Immunization Series initiative to increase immunization rates for Russian-speaking children in Sacramento County showed a compliance-rate increase of 7 percent. Also noteworthy was the Postpartum Project for African-American women in the Antelope Valley to improve postpartum visit rates by addressing the barriers around timely access to care and providing transportation to appointments for mothers and their children. This initiative showed a 40-percent gap reduction and increased compliance from 17 percent to 33 percent. 

“Health equity exists when all people, regardless of race, gender, socio-economic status, geographic location, or other societal constructs have the same access, opportunity, and resources to achieve their highest potential for health. It is our hope that these companies provide an example and encourage other employers to advance health equity,” said Marcotte.

About the National Business Group on Health®

The National Business Group on Health is the nation’s only non-profit organization devoted exclusively to representing large employers’ perspective on national health policy issues and helping companies optimize business performance through health improvement, innovation and health care management. The Business Group leads initiatives to address the most relevant health care issues facing employers today and enables human resource and benefit leaders to learn, share and leverage best practices from the most progressive companies. Business Group members, which include 72 Fortune 100 companies, provide health coverage for more than 50 million U.S. workers, retirees and their families. For more information, visit www.businessgrouphealth.org.

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