Latest / Becker’s Payer Issues Podcast / Driving Impact Through Data and Heart: Inside The Cigna Group Foundation's Community Strategy with Melissa Skottegaard

Transcript

Driving Impact Through Data and Heart: Inside The Cigna Group Foundation's Community Strategy with Melissa Skottegaard · Becker’s Payer Issues Podcast

• 0:00
  Hello, everyone. This is Jacob Emerson with the
• 0:02
  Becker's Pay Your Issues podcast. Thrilled today to
• 0:05
  be joined by a special guest. Melissa Skotigard
• 0:08
  is the chair of the Cigna Group Foundation.
• 0:11
  Melissa, thank you so much for taking the
• 0:13
  time to sit down with us on the
• 0:14
  podcast today. Thank you. Thanks for having me,
• 0:17
  Jacob.
• 0:18
  Well, Melissa, we're super glad to have you
• 0:20
  join us for the recording today. But before
• 0:22
  we dive into everything we wanna talk with
• 0:23
  you about, can you tell us a little
• 0:24
  bit more about yourself, your background in health
• 0:27
  care, and what it is that you're doing
• 0:29
  today at the Cigna Group?
• 0:31
  Terrific.
• 0:32
  So, Jacob, again, thank you for having me.
• 0:35
  So today, I had communications at the Cigna
• 0:38
  Group, I've been in communications here since 2018,
• 0:42
  and I also have the privilege of serving
• 0:44
  as the chair of the Cigna Group Foundation
• 0:46
  and heading our community programs.
• 0:49
  I'll note though that I started my career
• 0:53
  way back many, many, many years ago
• 0:56
  in social work. I worked with the mentally
• 0:59
  ill and I worked with with homeless families.
• 1:02
  So what I love about what I get
• 1:03
  to do today is I really get to
• 1:06
  drive systemic change in health care with my
• 1:08
  role
• 1:10
  and leading the foundation.
• 1:12
  And I also get to
• 1:14
  work grassroots
• 1:16
  as a board member at Make A Wish
• 1:18
  Connecticut, something I'm really passionate about.
• 1:21
  So I get to blend both systemic change
• 1:24
  in health care with being active,
• 1:27
  at the at the grassroots level.
• 1:30
  Fantastic.
• 1:31
  So a long history with the Cigna Group.
• 1:33
  And as part of that, from what I
• 1:35
  understand, the company has launched
• 1:37
  a refreshed community engagement strategy that started last
• 1:41
  year.
• 1:42
  Tell us a little bit more about that.
• 1:43
  What does that entail, and and what's happening
• 1:45
  with that this year?
• 1:47
  Yeah. Good. Great. Thanks for the question. So
• 1:50
  yes, we launched a refresh community engagement strategy
• 1:53
  about a year ago now, and for us,
• 1:56
  we took a step back
• 1:58
  coming out of the pandemic
• 2:00
  and really looked at our programs. A lot
• 2:02
  of things were changing in the environment.
• 2:05
  And I'll just couple I'll just cite a
• 2:07
  couple of them.
• 2:09
  First is
• 2:10
  our employees were coming back into the office,
• 2:12
  and what we found was our employees really
• 2:15
  wanted to get involved in the community
• 2:18
  and have more
• 2:20
  collaboration
• 2:21
  and team activities
• 2:23
  with their colleagues, and volunteerism
• 2:25
  is a great way to do it.
• 2:27
  So that was that was kind of number
• 2:29
  one for us. Number two was the nature
• 2:31
  of nonprofits
• 2:32
  themselves
• 2:33
  changed through the pandemic,
• 2:35
  and the needs of community organizations,
• 2:39
  changed.
• 2:40
  So that was also
• 2:42
  a force of change.
• 2:43
  The third dynamic
• 2:44
  for the Cigna group was we had a
• 2:47
  couple of signature programs that we put into
• 2:49
  place
• 2:50
  actually at the beginning of the pandemic.
• 2:52
  One in particular called healthier kids for our
• 2:55
  future,
• 2:55
  which was a five year commitment. And that
• 2:58
  program came to its natural end.
• 3:00
  And so we had an opportunity to take
• 3:03
  a step back and look at refreshing our
• 3:05
  strategy.
• 3:07
  With that, we decided
• 3:09
  to to really go after best practices
• 3:12
  and look at fewer grants
• 3:15
  and bigger grants so that we could have
• 3:17
  more impact
• 3:18
  and outcomes with our community partners.
• 3:21
  The other thing I'd mention is again our
• 3:24
  employees really wanted to get involved in community
• 3:28
  activities and so for us
• 3:30
  we stepped back and took a pivot to
• 3:32
  focus on three primary areas of giving
• 3:36
  instead of one signature program with Healthier Kids
• 3:40
  for our Future.
• 3:42
  So those three areas are
• 3:44
  one, youth mental health.
• 3:46
  Two is a focus on veterans and in
• 3:49
  particular housing and security for veterans,
• 3:52
  and the third is around health equity.
• 3:55
  The way that we got to those three
• 3:58
  really was aligning around our business priorities and
• 4:02
  focus. So starting with what do we do
• 4:05
  and how can we make an impact.
• 4:07
  Secondly,
• 4:08
  is where our employee passions are, and third
• 4:11
  is where our customers are based. So we
• 4:13
  also looked at,
• 4:15
  our customers,
• 4:17
  and we looked at data around where we
• 4:19
  have high and very high social determinants of
• 4:22
  health needs
• 4:24
  and tried to prioritize our focus, in that
• 4:26
  way.
• 4:27
  Got it. Understood. So your employees were or
• 4:30
  they were coming back to the office post
• 4:31
  pandemic. You wanted them more involved in in
• 4:34
  the foundation's work. Nonprofit needs a change post
• 4:37
  pandemic, and and, ultimately, you're looking to make
• 4:40
  a bigger impact. So
• 4:41
  take us through why why the foundation chose
• 4:44
  the specific commitments that it did,
• 4:47
  and what are some of the goals associated
• 4:49
  with with each one of those? Perfect.
• 4:52
  So I'll start with the first one, youth
• 4:55
  mental health. And and I'm a parent, a
• 4:57
  parent of two teenagers.
• 4:59
  So this is certainly near and dear to
• 5:01
  my heart.
• 5:02
  Again, coming out of the pandemic, we saw
• 5:05
  as as a nation in a global community
• 5:07
  arise in
• 5:09
  youth mental health and the needs around around
• 5:11
  mental health. In fact, I, the CDC just
• 5:15
  had a study that one in five high
• 5:17
  school students considered suicide in 2023.
• 5:21
  That's alarming. That's alarming as a parent, and
• 5:23
  it's it's alarming as as just
• 5:26
  a leader and a community leader.
• 5:29
  Secondly,
• 5:30
  on veterans,
• 5:32
  so switching to veterans,
• 5:34
  this one is also critically important. Veterans are
• 5:37
  experiencing
• 5:38
  housing instability
• 5:39
  and they have increased odds of mental distress
• 5:43
  and also
• 5:44
  suicide.
• 5:46
  So again, uphill battles, some incredible barriers facing
• 5:50
  veterans,
• 5:51
  forty thousand veterans go without shelter on any
• 5:54
  given night in The US.
• 5:56
  And so really focusing on,
• 5:58
  housing and security is the focus there.
• 6:01
  The third is around health equity. And we
• 6:05
  know that 80% of a person's health is
• 6:08
  affected by things outside of the doctor's office.
• 6:10
  So think about things like healthy foods,
• 6:13
  transportation,
• 6:14
  getting to to the doctor, and
• 6:16
  health literacy
• 6:18
  are absolutely
• 6:19
  essential.
• 6:20
  So we focused on that third area around
• 6:24
  health equity
• 6:25
  for that reason.
• 6:27
  I would just also call out that we
• 6:30
  looked at again where we have
• 6:33
  customers
• 6:34
  and patients of the Cigna group
• 6:37
  and according to our data where there's high
• 6:40
  and very high social determinants of health risks.
• 6:43
  And we also focused further
• 6:46
  based on that data in 10 states
• 6:49
  and limited international
• 6:50
  support
• 6:51
  because we don't have unlimited resources.
• 6:54
  So in addition to the three areas of
• 6:56
  focus that I,
• 6:58
  spoke about, also where we focus,
• 7:01
  from a geographic
• 7:02
  standpoint, we also,
• 7:04
  zeroed in on so that we could have
• 7:06
  bigger impact
• 7:08
  in fewer states
• 7:09
  and in fewer areas of focus.
• 7:12
  Alright. Well, understood, Melissa. So teen mental health
• 7:15
  issues, veterans care, health equity, all clearly a
• 7:19
  top priority,
• 7:20
  for the for the foundation right now. Can
• 7:22
  you expand on any of these initiatives for
• 7:24
  us?
• 7:25
  What how how many in terms of the
• 7:27
  grants, how large they are that are going
• 7:29
  to these groups, and and any feedback you're
• 7:31
  hearing, on the ground,
• 7:33
  from some of the the people that you're
• 7:35
  serving.
• 7:37
  Yeah. Certainly.
• 7:38
  Thanks for the question.
• 7:41
  So we have committed more than 27,000,000
• 7:44
  in grants over three years.
• 7:46
  That number, Jacob, varies year to year. So
• 7:49
  I'm not going to give you a hard
• 7:51
  and fast number of how many grants we'll
• 7:54
  give go forward because we really look at
• 7:57
  who are the right partners,
• 7:59
  and based on the applications that come in.
• 8:02
  I will though give you just a couple
• 8:05
  of examples
• 8:06
  to the nonprofits
• 8:07
  and we've had 60 grants,
• 8:10
  so far.
• 8:11
  Just a few examples to call out. So
• 8:14
  in the youth bucket,
• 8:17
  the McCall Foundation, which is here in Connecticut,
• 8:20
  which is where I'm based, they have a
• 8:22
  new Spanish speaking clinical team and expanded access
• 8:25
  to culturally appropriate care
• 8:27
  to residents in the Waterbury, Connecticut area.
• 8:31
  And from a national perspective, we've partnered up
• 8:34
  with the Boys and Girls Club of America
• 8:36
  as a national partner for youth commitment. And
• 8:38
  in fact, I was just in the boys
• 8:41
  and girls club in Pasadena
• 8:43
  last week.
• 8:44
  And that particular club, as you might imagine,
• 8:48
  with the recent wildfires
• 8:49
  in the area,
• 8:51
  the the club kids, they are facing just
• 8:53
  incredible
• 8:54
  hardship, and that club is a lifeline for
• 8:56
  those children.
• 8:58
  More than 70 families in that club have
• 9:00
  been impacted
• 9:01
  by the fires. People have lost their homes
• 9:04
  and also schools in the area,
• 9:07
  have been lost. So the Boys and Girls
• 9:10
  Club is a really important partner for us,
• 9:13
  and an amazing nonprofit that just does incredible
• 9:16
  work across The US.
• 9:19
  In the veterans area, a couple of examples.
• 9:22
  Operation Finally Home
• 9:25
  provides homes and and home modifications
• 9:27
  for wounded, ill, and injured veterans and first
• 9:30
  responders and their families
• 9:32
  in Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas.
• 9:36
  So again, that's that's in veterans.
• 9:40
  In health equity we focused in two communities
• 9:43
  really trying to go deeper into
• 9:46
  specific communities
• 9:48
  and again looked at data based on the
• 9:51
  social determinants of health needs and so those
• 9:53
  two communities are Houston where we're focused on
• 9:56
  obesity and diabetes
• 9:59
  and Hartford which is really focused around
• 10:02
  access to care, how do we get to
• 10:05
  primary care, so think mobile vans, really helping
• 10:08
  to make sure people can get to the
• 10:10
  care that that they need.
• 10:12
  So those two were stood up actually last,
• 10:14
  those two community programs were stood up last,
• 10:17
  and a couple of grantee partners include Bread
• 10:19
  of Life,
• 10:20
  the Hispanic Health Coalition and that's in Houston,
• 10:24
  And in Hartford,
• 10:25
  the Hartford Public Library,
• 10:27
  Malta House, and Wheeler Clinic have been amazing
• 10:29
  partners,
• 10:30
  for us as well.
• 10:32
  Wow. Well, clearly, such creative
• 10:34
  and impactful work going on in communities
• 10:37
  all over the country, and it's it's interesting
• 10:39
  to hear you talk about how data driven
• 10:40
  this process is as well for you all.
• 10:43
  Melissa, earlier in our conversation, you were talking
• 10:45
  about how you you've really worked to get
• 10:47
  more Cigna employees involved in this important work.
• 10:51
  Can you can you talk to us a
• 10:52
  little bit more about that? How are employees
• 10:55
  involved directly in in this all, and and
• 10:57
  why is it so important ultimately?
• 11:00
  Yeah. So,
• 11:01
  for our employees,
• 11:03
  it it really is
• 11:05
  volunteerism is part of who we are. It
• 11:07
  is a pillar of our values
• 11:10
  and and why people come to work here
• 11:13
  is our focus on community and giving back.
• 11:16
  As you would expect from a health services
• 11:18
  company, it just is a fabric of who
• 11:20
  we are.
• 11:22
  And coming again, out of the pandemic, what
• 11:24
  we found with our employees is a big
• 11:27
  desire
• 11:28
  to really be engaged
• 11:30
  and be active in in the community.
• 11:34
  Through the pandemic, many people,
• 11:36
  certainly myself included,
• 11:39
  I felt an absence
• 11:41
  of being connected to the community
• 11:44
  in the way that I can through volunteerism.
• 11:47
  Still could be active through things like, you
• 11:50
  know, online programs and and writing letters and
• 11:53
  making calls to
• 11:55
  elderly,
• 11:57
  shut ins. So certainly, it was active,
• 12:00
  but,
• 12:01
  our folks really wanted to get much more
• 12:03
  hands on and engage with each other.
• 12:07
  We also,
• 12:08
  put some more of our resources
• 12:12
  and our grant dollars behind our
• 12:15
  employees,
• 12:16
  giving back. So if our employees,
• 12:19
  volunteer a certain amount of time,
• 12:21
  we will donate,
• 12:24
  small grants on their behalf to nonprofits in
• 12:27
  recognition of that volunteer time.
• 12:30
  So again, for us, it's just about tremendous
• 12:33
  pride and as a result of the programs
• 12:36
  that we put into place, we saw almost
• 12:38
  a 30%
• 12:39
  year over year increase in volunteerism
• 12:42
  between 2024
• 12:44
  and 2023.
• 12:46
  And not only is that good for our
• 12:48
  employee morale and productivity,
• 12:51
  but it also equates to more than 5,600,000
• 12:55
  in economic value right back into the communities
• 12:58
  in recognition of that time.
• 13:01
  Wow. I mean, it's amazing to hear. That's
• 13:03
  such an enterprise wide focus for you all.
• 13:07
  Before we go, Melissa, what else are we
• 13:09
  missing? Any final thoughts or final bits of
• 13:12
  advice you wanna offer the other health care
• 13:14
  leaders listening in right now?
• 13:17
  Yeah. Look, this is not easy to pivot.
• 13:20
  A company is giving,
• 13:22
  giving grants and and volunteers and is incredibly
• 13:25
  personal
• 13:27
  to to people. People care deeply
• 13:29
  about
• 13:30
  causes in the community.
• 13:33
  But I would advocate
• 13:35
  to other leaders
• 13:37
  and
• 13:38
  business leaders
• 13:39
  to not be afraid of change,
• 13:43
  to really be guided by data and to
• 13:45
  help understand where your dollars can have the
• 13:48
  most impact,
• 13:50
  and also to
• 13:51
  really tap into your employees.
• 13:55
  At least for for the Cigna group, our
• 13:57
  people want to do even more. And so
• 14:00
  tapping into that employee pride and engaging them,
• 14:03
  I think, is is also
• 14:04
  something I would advise.
• 14:07
  Wonderful. Well, Melissa, thank you so much for
• 14:10
  taking the time to sit down with us
• 14:12
  and for sharing a little bit about the
• 14:14
  important work that's going on under your leadership.
• 14:16
  We really appreciate it. Thanks, Jacob.
• 14:19
  And if you'd like to listen to more
• 14:20
  podcasts from Becker's Health Care, you can visit
• 14:22
  beckershospitalreview.com.