Healthcare Innovation at BDT

The need to address social drivers of health (SDoH) is not a new concept, but how to address it in an evidence-based and scalable way is. That’s where BDT comes in.

Benefits access: A large-scale, high-impact intervention

For more than 40 million Americans who live in poverty, choosing to “heat, treat, or eat” is a devastating reality. Enrollment in benefits that help pay for food, healthcare, housing, and more is a proven avenue to positive, sustained health outcomes and lower care costs at a population level.

Optimal health starts with meeting a person’s most basic needs. Yet, even before the pandemic, nearly 8 million individuals were eligible but not enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program (SNAP). By streamlining access to assistance programs proven to improve health and advance opportunity today, we can address SDoH with a broader reach — as interest in addressing SDoH at a national level grows, there is ample opportunity to invest in solutions at scale.

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"Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) reduces the likelihood of hospitalization by 14% and nursing home utilization by 23%, saving over $2,100/year in healthcare costs (per each low-income older adult enrolled)."

– Access to Public Benefits Among Dual Eligible Seniors Reduces Risk of Nursing Home and Hospital Admission and Cuts Costs

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"SNAP saves $1,400 per year in healthcare expenditures for low-income adults."

– Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Participation and Health Care Expenditures Among Low-Income Adults

That’s why BDT works with health plans, integrated delivery networks, and other healthcare partners to help their members and patients access programs such as SNAP.

The value of our work

BDT uses data and sophisticated people-centered outreach to proactively identify and engage health plan members and patients and support them through the process of enrolling in assistance programs.

We also recognize the importance of reducing gaps in health insurance coverage. When a member temporarily loses insurance, the lack of continuity not only leads to multiple challenges when an individual seeks out medical care but also equates to lost revenue for healthcare entities.

Our solutions:

We reduce churn by using text “nudges” to help health plan members complete the Medicaid redetermination process as they approach deadlines, providing complete application assistance when necessary.

We identify those who are highly eligible but not enrolled in benefits such as SNAP and Medicaid.

We find and connect individuals using mail, phone, and text.

We support members through every step of the benefit application process through our contact centers – all on behalf of our partner plan.

Healthcare partners include

Aetna Better Health of Pennsylvania

Benefits Data Trust and Aetna Better Health of Pennsylvania work to help over 90,000 members stay enrolled in Medicaid and connect them to assistance programs.

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UPMC Health Plan of Pennsylvania

BDT’s PA Benefit Center accepts warm referrals of UPMC For You plan members who are transferred from UPMCFY’s Member Services Center for multi-benefit application assistance.

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HealthShare Exchange of Pennsylvania

BDT took part in an innovative partnership with HSX that leveraged health exchange data to ensure seniors recovering from a hospital stay were connected to the benefits for which they were eligible. This model is being expanded to reach multiple Philadelphia-based health systems.

Learn more

To work with BDT’s Healthcare Innovation team to expand benefits access, please contact us.

 

BDT’s healthcare practice in the news:
Policy and practice work & additional resources: