← Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
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- [00:00]
A
Hello everyone, this is Jacob Emerson with the Becker's Payer Issues podcast. Thrilled today to be joined by Brendan Harris, who is the Medicaid president at UPMC Health Plan. Brandon, thanks so much for taking the time to be with me on the podcast today.
- [00:13]
B
Jacob, it's great to be here and thanks for the opportunity to come and talk about some of the work that we're doing.
- [00:18]
A
Absolutely. We love having you on the podcast with us. Brandon, before we dive into everything, we want to talk with you about all the good stuff that's happening under your leadership at upmc. Can you tell us a little bit more about yourself, our audience who might not be familiar, your background in healthcare and the part of the company that you now lead today?
- [00:36]
B
Great, great. I'll start with a little bit of my background and then can lead into some of the, you know, kind of what I have to manage today. But I actually prior to joining upmc, I've been here a little under eight years. I was a like to call myself a reformed bureaucrat now, but I spent 12 years at the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services working in a variety of roles, you know, really supporting the Medicaid program predominantly across all the different ELE we have in Pennsylvania. And since coming to upmc, I've kind of taken an interesting trajectory across the board here, starting with running our MLTSS program, our managed long term services and supports program known here in Pennsylvania as Community Health Choices. But now I also have responsibility over most of our Medicaid portfolio, which not only includes our mltss, but also our physical health Medicaid plan, our CHIP program, and then one of my favorite parts of the work that I get and what I'm going to talk a little bit about is our center for Social Impact, which is really leading the charge across the UPMC world and looking at health related social needs and social determinants of health and how we can really meet people where they are and support them through some of the unique programs that we've developed through the years?
- [01:57]
A
Sure, yeah. And let's dive right into that, Brandon, because we were talking with some other leaders at UPMC recently about what the center is doing, specifically about the Pathways to Work program, which for audience who might not know, UPMC's Pathway to Work program provides job skills training to Medicaid recipients so that they can find a career, they can get health benefits and access to tuition assistance. So what's the latest with that, Brendan? How is the program going? Any latest stories, stats to share with us?
- [02:30]
B
Oh, absolutely. I mean, this is one of my favorite programs that we've had the opportunity to develop. And it's really, it's taken on a life of its own and really just been an incredible model when we look at it. So one of the big things, and I'll rewind us to about five or so years ago when we really started this program. One of the big things that's unique about UPMC is we're actually the largest non government employer in the state of Pennsylvania. So you know, we have over 40 hospitals, doctor's offices, you name it, let alone the health plan that we run. And one of the big challenges that we struggle with and we're in this across the country is our workforce and finding people to fill jobs at all levels within the organization. And we really do an incredible job doing that with over 100,000 employees. But we also have a significant number of job openings on any given day. Thousands upon thousands of jobs available across our footprint in Pennsylvania here. And you know, one of the unique things is, you know that we decided at the time about five years ago was what could we do? What more could we do? Are there some non traditional ways that we can look to develop the workforce? And that really led us to a partnership with our local Workforce Investment Board here in Allegheny county, outside that's Pittsburgh, here in Pennsylvania, and really approach them about what can we do to maybe look at the folks that are on our Medicaid program and enrolled with us to receive benefits for Medicaid and maybe look at how we can support them and give them an opportunity to really find gainful employment with us. And it really kind of took off, it started off as a unique conversation. We got into some disability employment as part of it as well. And we really just crossed an incredible threshold with over 10,000 individuals have left our Medicaid program and joined UPMC's workforce in either full or part time positions. And that's really just an incredible milestone, especially in light of all the conversations about employment with Medicaid today. Right now we're hiring more than 200 people a month from our own Medicaid plan. Now it seems like we're hurting ourselves, but in the end we're giving these individuals skills and jobs that match their skills that they may have, or getting them plugged into programs that actually develop skills and then getting them into family and life sustaining jobs here at upmc. And it's really just been an incredible thing. And you know, we see this as part of our core mission across Pennsylvania. And it's really just an incredible opportunity that we've seen so much success with this. And one of the big things is, you know, when these folks come to us, we're paying significantly higher than minimum wage for these positions. And, you know, at the end of the day, they're getting access to all the benefits that, you know, all of us have as employees, which includes tuition reimbursement, other things like that. And we've seen some incredible, you know, success stories of individuals that started in the program and that continued on and that are now joining and going to medical school and nursing school and really kind of rejoining that workforce and making a significant difference for the people that we serve, having been some of the people that we served. And it's really just been an incredible program that we've been able to build and really drive and promote self sufficiency across the region. And one of the great things that we've been able to do is it started here in Allegheny county, but we've expanded it to other parts of our footprint in the northwestern part of the state, in Erie as well as in central Pennsylvania, outside of Harrisburg. And we're seeing some of the same success that we had here in those locations as well. And it's really just incredible, especially with, as we understand the intersection of Medicaid and work and what that actually means.
- [06:44]
A
Wow. I mean, those really are some incredible numbers you just cited there, Brennan, in terms of 10,000 people placed into career roles since this program started, 200 people a month being hired. It's really amazing. And I want to ask you, you mentioned that these are medic members, where they, where they're starting from. And obviously, as you alluded to, there's so much going on right now with the Medicaid program more broadly, of course, work requirements coming down the pipeline nationally. So when you're thinking about this, this program, why is UPMC Health Plan so passionate about removing some of these barriers that these individuals face? What, what is really behind all of this for you?
- [07:26]
B
Well, I. I mean, I think it's. It's at the core of who we are. I mean, we're a regional health plan here in Pennsylvania. And not only is our health plan business here in Pennsylvania, for the most part, our hospitals, for the most part, other than a couple exceptions, are here in Pennsylvania. And we're embedded in these communities. We see it day in and day out, we see the impact that we have in those communities. And fundamentally, community is in our DNA. And that's really where we saw this and we saw some of our community members that needed help. And really what we wanted to do was find a way to help them. And it also helps our business as well. And you know, so it really kind of checks a lot of the boxes for us as a nonprofit health plan health system here in Pennsylvania to really do good and give back to those communities that we serve. Because at the end of the day, if those communities are thriving and being successful, so are we. And you know, one of the other big things, and I'll just throw this out there because they did come from their get their healthcare coverage from Medicaid. Now they get coverage through our commercial benefits. And that's been a big shift for these folks as well in getting that access point too.
- [08:40]
A
No, that's absolutely amazing. And like I said, we really appreciate you filling us in on what the latest is with this program. Some of the latest stats there. Brendan I want to shift focus to another community initiative that I know is really at the center of what the health plan is focused on right now. You've got new neighborhood centers in Pittsburgh and now Erie, the Erie center, of course, opening just this past center. So talk to our listeners about this, what these centers are, how they position the health plan to really go beyond just actual health care and really deliver or at least address some of those SDOH that you mentioned at the start of our conversation today.
- [09:20]
B
Oh, absolutely. And I will say these are incredibly near and dear to my heart because I actually put a lot of sweat equity, physical equity and work into setting up our first neighborhood center in the East End of Pittsburgh. But you know, these really, truly embody a lot of what I just mentioned about our commitment to our communities. You know, one of the big challenges that we hear is, is, you know, we've got a lot of different community groups that are working within these communities to support our members and those communities as a whole. So one of the big things that, you know, we were presented with an incredible opportunity with this gigantic space in the East End of Pittsburgh more than a few years ago. And it was a blank slate. And it was what can we do with this? And knowing where we were in the East End of Pittsburgh and, and some of the challenges that some of the communities in the East End had. We kind of hatched this idea of meeting people where they are and meeting people in those communities, but not going with a top down approach, really going at it with a different approach, creating a platform in those communities, but then really making that platform adaptable to the needs of that community. And that's been one of the incredible successes that we've had. And it's rooted in the concept of we're embedded there. We live in these communities, too, and we want to be able to kind of really find ways to support them. And we want to be able to meet the people that we serve where they are. And that becomes incredibly important with all of the folks that we serve across all of our Medicaid programs and all our programs in general. Really, when it comes down to it, we all live in neighborhoods at the end of the day. And really what we wanted to be able to do was find an opportunity. But too often groups can come in and they think they know what that community needs. And we really wanted to flip that on its head a little bit, because the community knows what they need. They know what they're seeing day in and day out and the people that are being served there. So really, our goal was to go in and create a platform. And at that platform, we have access to a bunch of different things that we provide at UPMC as a whole. So we have access to telehealth at that platform. If someone needs help or benefits, we can get them signed up when they walk in the door. If they're having trouble navigating how to find a doctor where they can go to get help, we'll help navigate them. And we have community health workers manning all of these facilities to really help them guide. And then we're also creating a platform for those various community groups. So creating a place where you can go and you can get access to food and nutrition and healthy produce and shelf, stable foods there, but then also using the space that we have and some of that infrastructure to support community groups that are doing fantastic work, but they may not have the infrastructure to provide some of the things that they need. So, you know, be it trainings, be it groups, and it's everything from citizenship classes to, you know, employment and training programs. Some of what I talked about with Partner for Work, some of the training they do actually takes place at the Neighborhood Center. And, you know, really having that platform through that. And we've had over 200 different community groups use the East End Neighborhood center since its inception and creation. And, you know, one of the things that we decided was we wanted to take the show on the road. So Pittsburgh obviously is near and dear to our heart, and the name obviously being rooted in Pittsburgh with Mr. Rogers. So we want it to be a good day in the neighborhood for those communities that we serve. And that's why we came up with the name of the Neighborhood Center. But, you know, really, we didn't want to stop at just Pittsburgh. We wanted to take this to new locations. And we decided to go into Erie and the east end of Erie and really find a different way. So it's the Erie neighborhood center, and it's different than what we did in Pittsburgh, which is exactly the point. It's not going in with a cookie cutter approach. It's going in creating that platform and then using it. And the east end of Erie has a lot of challenges. They've really struggled. It's a food desert. It's a childcare desert. There's a whole host of issues facing that neighborhood. And really we're going in to really develop and support that neighborhood in partnership with some of the things that we've been doing. So the UPMC foundation, with the UPMC Hammett foundation in Erie has been investing a lot in some of the locations in the east end. And this is really meant to supplement that. So we've got some really incredible partnerships there with a Second Harvest, which is the food bank in Erie, Pennsylvania. And what they've actually created is a one of a kind marketplace where people can go in and get access to healthy foods. They're not running to the convenience store, then bodegas that are down the street. They're really getting access to healthy produce and food at the neighborhood center. It's really an incredible partnership. And it's, like I said, it's a little bit different than what we have in the east end, but it's providing a lot of really good opportunities for that. And we also have access to street medicine. We have access to a whole host of services that are there. And it's really meant to focus on what that neighborhood needs and what we can do to really support it. It's got a lot of the same things that we do in the east end, but we've really expanded it. And I will tell you, I was doing a walk through before the grand opening, and we had people knocking on the door and we were able to get them help. We had a gentleman walk in who was having trouble finding a doctor and a dentist. And literally we got on the phone with him as I was standing there with the team, and we got him a doctor's appointment for a couple days later and found a dentist to get him in there too. Which is exactly the point. It's. It's meant to be that community resource to really support that community and really give back and find those creative solutions to best support the. Our. Our membership in those areas.
- [15:29]
A
Yeah, no, absolutely. And I'm sure that feels really great for you and your team on. On a personal level, being to be there on the ground and. And see the impact you're making firsthand with your members.
- [15:41]
B
Absolutely, absolutely. And it really. I think it was great for me. Cause I don't always get to see all the folks that we serve on a regular basis, and I love to meet them, hear their stories and that experience. And then when we did the grand opening, I was hanging out for a little bit afterwards and had the same type of interaction with some folks that just needed some help. And that's really what it was meant to be. And our partnership with those community groups that are there is only continuing to get stronger. We have classes that are going for, you know, pregnant moms, you know, teaching them what they should be doing with their kids. We have caregiver classes because we have a lot of seniors in those areas. So trying to help support the people that are really spending all their time and blood sweat equity supporting the people that we have in those. Those areas and those members. And it's really, it's. It's not meant to be. Only upmc. It's really a broader aspect of. Of how we can give back to those communities and really support them.
- [16:41]
A
No, certainly. And, you know, 200 community organizations already. That's incredible. I'm sure many more to come. Brendan, before we go today, anything else we're missing? Any other tidbits you want to share with the other health plan leaders listening right now? It's an incredibly busy time for everybody listening in. What else do you want to share today?
- [17:03]
B
It's incredibly busy. And, you know, Medicaid's always had its challenges through the years, and I've been working at Medicaid for 20 years now, and it's always going through the ringer when we look at those things. But really, I think in these times, it's really about listening to the people you serve and going and meeting them where they are. You can't forget about it. It's one thing to be a leader, it's another thing to really go out and listen to those communities, really spend the time and the energy with them. That's such an important component of it, to have their stories to be able to give back to our regulators and to also help inform us. I learned so much from talking to the people that are enrolled with us, going on visits with our teams. It really gives you a good perspective on how you should be functioning and how you can do the best to serve them and meet people where they are.
- [17:58]
A
Wonderful. Well, Brendan, I want to thank you so much for taking the time once again to sit down with us, share your insights with our listeners, and sharing about all this clearly very impactful work going on under the leadership of you and your team at the health plan. So thank you very much.
- [18:14]
B
No, thank you. For the opportunity and appreciate you taking the time to hear some of what the great things that we're doing.
- [18:20]
A
Absolutely. And to our listeners, if you want to listen to more podcasts from Becker's Healthcare, you can visit Beckershospitalreview.com.