This year has brought many challenges to our industry. But for GuideWell, 2020 is so much more than a story of tribulations. It’s a story of how we’ve overcome adversity in powerful and meaningful ways.
You may recall last December, we highlighted our enterprise’s 10 big wins for 2019. I find it only fitting to carry on this tradition this year by highlighting how we’re staying true to our mission through an unprecedented year.
This is what reimagining the future of health care looks like. And through efforts like these, we will continue driving health care costs down and increasing access for more individuals and families.
In no particular order, here are 10 accomplishments through adversity from 2020:
Response to COVID-19 – GuideWell took swift action to ensure our employees, members and communities were supported. Our deep community experience, relationships and connections positioned us to serve as a leader, convener and problem solver.
• Florida Blue made meaningful adjustments to our policies to combat the spread of the virus while minimizing barriers to testing and treatment. Read more here.
• GuideWell Health quickly implemented telehealth programs to ensure care could continue for our members.
• PopHealthCare is now leading the way in demonstrating how to safely continue in-person care.
• Our IT team impressively and rapidly transitioned us into a mostly remote working environment and our Enterprise Communications team enhanced our communications efforts to ensure all team members were staying connected.
Taking action for racial equality – Because we know we can’t accomplish our mission without also doing the necessary work to end racism, we’ve demonstrated our leadership within our company and our communities to bring actionable change.
• We’re investing $25 million over five years to support organizations that help strengthen diversity, inclusion and health equity.
• The GuideWell Equity Alliance was established to address systemic racism and health inequities for Black Americans.
• GuideWell Innovation’s Reshaping Health Access challenge targeted solutions for accessible, quality, affordable health care and health education in underserved populations.
Local Market Initiative (LMI) – Within Commercial Markets, we implemented a new operating model that expanded our regional market teams to provide even greater focus on each market we serve and to deliver differentiated solutions that positively impact the health and well-being of our communities. Within Florida Blue Medicare, we’ve developed an “interlocking strategy” for growth with competitive products, strong provider partners and a market message unique to each county we serve.
Increased ownership of New Directions Behavioral Health – Because we recognize that mental health is a critical component of providing holistic care, we wanted to further integrate bold behavioral health solutions into our portfolio. In October, we announced we are now the majority shareholder of New Directions.
Acquisition of WebTPA – In November, GuideWell acquired the innovative and market leading Third Party Administrator (TPA) of self-funded employer health plans, which allows us to further expand our solutions for employer health plans. Teaming up, we’ll be able to further innovate our Administrative Services Only (ASO) offering to meet the dynamic and complex needs of the marketplace. This is essential to our ability to pivot our ASO offering in this increasingly competitive space and is both a strong defensive and offensive play.
Launch of new Corporate Social Responsibility strategy – The new strategy is designed to improve the health of communities, align resources and measure impact. Enhancements include defining focus areas and refreshing the Florida Blue Foundation strategy to drive alignment to enterprise goals, the CSR vision and our prioritized Drivers of Health (food security, health equity and mental well-being).
Expansion of GuideWell Emergency Doctors – Our lower cost alternative to the emergency room, operated by Crucial Care, is expanding in the Tampa and Orlando markets. Seven new innovative facilities will open, starting this month and continuing into 2021. Each location will be staffed by board-certified emergency medicine physicians and bilingual staff, and will be equipped with on-site CT scan, x-ray, ultrasound and certified labs. Learn more about GuideWell Emergency Doctors here.
Novitas wins new CMS business – GuideWell Source subsidiary Novitas Solutions was awarded the Provider Enrollment and Oversight (PEO) Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract supporting the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). This was a competitive opportunity, with 41 firms submitting proposals and the win directly supports Source’s strategic growth plans, which include deepening our partnership with CMS and winning back Jurisdictions L and N (we’ve already won back H).
FHCP expansion in Central Florida – Florida Health Care Plans will open its new Palm Bay facility this month, with telehealth visits already underway. The new facility includes primary care, specialty services, lab, pharmacy, infusion, ultrasound, radiology and a sales and service center. Additionally, a new primary care office is nearing completion in Titusville.
Strategic partnership with Livongo – Our partnership with Livongo, which merged with Teledoc this year, will help members with diabetes live better and healthier lives. The Livongo end-to-end virtual care experience will be offered through our Onlife Health platform, which is part of GuideWell Connect’s robust portfolio of offerings.