The GPBCH Mental Health Summit – Practical Strategies for Employers to Support a Mentally Healthy Workforce – achieved 150 registrants! We would like to thank everyone who attended, our session speakers, and all of our sponsors! We encourage you to review the , which includes the conference agenda, speaker bios, and sponsor listings. Also distributed during the Mental Health Summit, was the updated .

We have made each individual session accessible on the GPBCH YouTube page. You may access the sessions below:

• Welcome and Opening Remarks – Neil Goldfarb, President and CEO, Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health: |
• The Value of a Caring Culture – Darcy Gruttadaro, JD, Director, Center for Workplace Mental Health, APA Foundation: |
• The Path Forward: The Employer’s Role in Accelerating Mental Health Care – Mike Thompson, President and CEO, National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions: |
• Mitigating the Pandemic’s Impact on the Workforce’s Emotional Health – Andi Campbell, Chief Growth Officer, WellSpark Health: |
• Healthy Stretch Break/Mindfulness Exercise – Aleezé Sattar Moss, PhD, Associate Director, Myrna Brind Center for Mindfulness:
• Innovations in Increasing Access to Mental Health Services – Elise Merenda, SVP Behavioral Services, Carebridge, Hyong Un, MD, Chief Psychiatric Officer, Aetna, a CVS Health Company, and Chris Mosunic, Chief Clinical Officer, Vida Health: , , |
• Employer Case Study in Advancing Mental Health: Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services, City of Philadelphia – Tierra Pritchett, EdD, Deputy Commissioner, George Hanson, Chief People Officer, and Pam Sigman, Senior Director for Quality Management:
• Reactor Panel: Reflections on the Presentations and Discussion of Key Take-aways – Jeff Tzeng, D.O., Chief Medical Officer, Comcast NBCUniversal, Peggy Schubert, Area Vice President, Gallagher Benefit Services, and Ray Fabius, MD, Co-Founder and President, HealthNEXT and Consulting Medical Director, GPBCH:

This Employer Member Forum provided GPBCH employer members with opportunity to ask questions of other employers and share experiences. During 2022, we will plan to meet on a quarterly basis.

Medical care is complex, especially for people with chronic conditions who are being treated with multiple Rx and OTC medications. "Comprehensive Medication Management (CMM)" engages a pharmacist on the care team to ensure that medications are appropriate, necessary, dosed appropriately, and safe to be used with other medications a person may be taking. CMM has been shown to significantly improve patient outcomes and reduce total costs of care.

At this session, we explained the CMM model, reviewed the evidence for its effectiveness, identified opportunities for employers to implement CMM for their high-risk populations, and introduced the CMM Employer Toolkit developed by the Get the Medications Right Institute (GTMRx) (https://gtmr.org/employer-toolkit-2/).

Speakers included:

• Jan Hirsch, PhD, Founding Dean, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California at Irvine -
• Lynne Clark, MBA, Partner Strategy Consultant, Tabula Rasa Healthcare -
• Jessica Lea, CEO, Tria Health -
• Sandra Morris, MSN, Senior Consultant, Get the Medications Right Institute -

To access the program recording

RIBGH partnered with RIDOH to capitalize on World Heart Day and World Diabetes Day as we unite to fight against noncommunicable diseases and bend the health care cost trend. Neil Goldfarb, President & CEO of GPBCH, contributed as a panelist during this webinar. To access the program recording, CLICK HERE.

Key stakeholders in the Delaware Valley have joined forces to reinvent the surgical delivery system. The result is the creation of an integrated surgical network, producing superior clinical outcomes, exceptional patient experiences while generating significant cost reductions. At this session, we learned more about this innovative model and the impact to employer health plans and their covered lives.

The esteemed panel of speakers included:

• John Palumbo – ValueHealth Executive Chairman
• Phillip Robinson – President Lankenau Hospital, Mainline Health
• Marc Scarafone – Senior Vice President, Health Solutions at Aon
• Peter J. Pronovost M.D., Ph.D.– Chairman, ValueHealth Advisory Board on Healthcare Transformation

GPBCH members can view the slide deck () and the program recording () by logging into their member accounts.

As scientific knowledge and CDC guidance evolve rapidly, GPBCH continues to offer educational sessions with the latest information for employers. In this program, Dr. Ray Fabius, Co-Founder of HealthNEXT, and GPBCH Consulting Medical Director, discussed the following questions surrounding COVID-19:

• What makes the Delta variant different?
• How are the demographics of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths changing?
• What are the implications of the current surge for return to work, and return to school?
• What are the latest vaccination recommendations (ages, boosters, etc.)?
• What do we know about "long haulers" and what are the implications for employers and costs?
• What should employers do about mask requirements, and (when) is double-masking beneficial?
• What are the relative merits of home vs. laboratory testing?
• Why are vaccinated people having "breakthrough" cases? What does that say about vaccine effectiveness?
• What is the timeline for full FDA approval vs emergency authorization? How might full approval change employer policy and practice?

GPBCH members can view the slide deck () and the program recording () by logging into their member accounts.

Elective surgery is a significant driver of direct cost and productivity loss for employed populations, and following a build-up of delayed procedures post-COVID, employers can expect increased volume of procedures in the coming year. In this program, attendees heard from several innovative organizations that are helping to drive improvement in quality, safety, and cost management for surgical care. Among topics covered were:

• Why is it important to use centers of excellence that account for facility-level and surgeon-level variation in outcomes?
• How can reform of surgical payment models reduce costs while improving outcomes?
• What are "Enhanced Recovery and Support" services and how do they reduce recovery time and expedite return to work?
• How does appropriate surgical planning and management help to reduce post-surgical opioid use and dependence?
• What is GPBCH doing at the local level to advance surgical value?

Our panelists included:

• Brand Newland, CEO, Goldfinch Health
• Brent Nicholson, Co-founder and Chief Client Officer, Carrum Health
• Roy Winston, MD, Chief Clinical Officer, Pacira Biosciences

To access the program recording, and enter Passcode: qJ5g=9.

During our Annual Member Meeting, we presented an overview of coalition accomplishments and plans for the coming year and asked for member input. We also announced the new slate for the Board of Directors.

To access the program recording, . To view the slide deck, .

This session was meant for members who are interested in learning more about the new Employer Track in the Certificate and M.S. in Population Health programs offered by the Jefferson College of Population Health at Thomas Jefferson University. The Track was designed specifically for working professionals who would like to learn more about the growing discipline of Population Health, and how its concepts and methods can be applied specifically to employed populations. Although designed with the needs of employers in mind, the program is also highly applicable to other healthcare system stakeholders who engage with employers and the workforce. All courses are virtual, and asynchronous (meaning students can do the course work each week based on their schedules). GPBCH members are eligible for a 15% discount off of standard tuition for these courses.

During this session, Mitch Kaminski, MD, Program Director, presented an overview of the program and answered questions from the audience. The session was recorded and can be . To view the slide deck, .

If you are a GPBCH member and would like to learn more and apply, visit the program website here:

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GPBCH's Consulting Medical Director, Dr. Ray Fabius, spoke on the latest advances in knowledge and employer policy regarding COVID-19. Dr. Fabius provided his thoughts on how to promote vaccine confidence, and how employers should be interpreting the latest CDC guidance on use of masks. Included in the session was an employer case study from First Horizon Bank. Time at the end was allotted for Q&A from the audience. The session was recorded and can be To view the PDF presentation, .

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In recognition of National Stroke Awareness Month, our May 19th webinar covered the epidemiology and economics of stroke, and how employers can help prevent and manage stroke. Our guest speakers were Pascal Jabbour, MD, Angela and Richard T. Clark Distinguished Professor of Neurological Surgery, Division Chief of Neurovascular Surgery And Endovascular Neurosurgery, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, and Diana Tzeng, MD, Clinical Associate Professor, Neurology, Vickie and Jack Farber Institute for Neuroscience, Jefferson Health.

• Pascal Jabbour, MD - Full PDF Presentation
• Diana Tzeng, MD - Full PDF Presentation

Click HERE for a video recording of the webinar.

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With so much healthcare disruption in 2020 and early 2021, benefit leaders are looking for guidance on the best path forward post COVID. While there is much we still don’t know about the long term downstream cost impact of the pandemic, we do know that as hospitals and health systems look to overcome huge financials losses from delayed non-emergent procedures, consumers are making hasty high-cost healthcare decisions based on escalating critical need. In this webinar, Bill Kampine, healthcare economist and Healthcare Bluebook co-founder, and one of Bluebook's employer clients took a deep dive into rising healthcare costs and the importance of healthcare navigation, specific employer challenges, and macro-trends powering the need for healthcare transparency — plus what to anticipate in terms of cost and utilization for the remainder of 2021 and beyond.

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GPBCH has been working with several of our sister coalitions, advising the Get the Medications Right Institute on development of an employer toolkit to help employers implement Comprehensive Medication Management (CMM). CMM is a pharmacist-led intervention shown to significantly improve medication management and patient outcomes, and lower costs, for individuals with multiple co-morbidities being treated by multiple drugs. This webinar discussed the opportunities to improve value, the CMM approach and evidence that it works, and strategies for employers to target CMM to their populations in need.

GPBCH welcomed back Mike Stull, MBA, Chief Strategy Officer for Employers Health, for an update on key trends shaping the pharmaceutical and PBM market, and implications for employer strategy and cost management. Topics included supply chain dynamics, clinical management, rebates and specialty drugs. The discussion also featured an employer case study.

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The GPBCH Wellness Summit – Engaging Consumers in Wellness Post COVID-19: One Size Does Not Fit All – drew over 200 attendees. We would like to thank everyone who attended, our session speakers, and all of our sponsors! The entire program was recorded and can be viewed by . We also encourage all of you to review the , which includes the conference agenda, speaker bios, and sponsor listings.

We have made each individual session accessible on the GPBCH YouTube page. You may access the sessions below:

• Welcome and Opening Remarks – Neil Goldfarb, President and CEO, Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health:
• Applying a Population Health Framework to Employer Health and Well-being Initiatives – Michael Kobernick, MD, MS-PopHealth, Medical Director, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan: |
• Addressing Racism and Healthcare Disparities – Jessica Brooks, MPM, PHR, President and CEO, Pittsburgh Business Group on Health: |
• Addressing Social Determinants of Health to Improve Health Program Impact – Michael C. Sokol, MD, MS, Senior Vice President of Clinical Strategy, Quantum Health: |
• A Holistic Approach to Obesity Management –Amy Hall, PharmD, Medical Account Director, Population Health, Novo Nordisk: |
• Healthy Stretch Break sponsored by HealthWell Solutions:
• Engaging Consumers through Digital Platform – Emily Landgraf, Head of Employee Digital Health, Data and Product Management, Johnson & Johnson and Mike Cook, Senior Regional Director, Castlight Health: |
• Pharmacists: Personalizing Care within Mental Health, Wellness, and Disease Prevention – Martie Fankhauser, RPh, M.S. Pharmacy, BCPP, FASHP, FAzPA, Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Psychiatry at SinfoníaRx, Tabula Rasa: |
• Heart Health Home Monitoring and Digital Therapeutics: A “Must Have” in the Post-COVID Era – Terri Bogen, Health Plan Alliances, Senior Director, Hello Heart and Joel Brill, MD, Medical Advisor, Hello Heart: |
• Changing Outcomes with Mental Health, Tobacco Addiction, and COVID-19 – Jennifer Gendron, Head of Development, EX Program by Truth Initiative and Jarma Frisby, Coordinator, Tobacco Treatment and Wellness Programs, Get Healthy Philly, Philadelphia Department of Public Health: |
• CDC Foundation’s Perspective on Employers as National Health Change Agents – Ben Bluml, Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation, American Pharmacists Association Foundation and Michele Bildner, MPH, MCHES, Project Manager, CDC Foundation: |

Did you know that as of January 1st 2021 hospitals are required to publish on their websites their prices and payor-negotiated rates for 300 "shoppable services" such as elective surgeries and diagnostic tests such as colonoscopies? In this webinar, Dexter Glasgow, Office of Program Operations and Local Engagement, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), discussed CMS' hospital price transparency initiatives and how the new regulations are intended to support consumers in seeking out affordable care. We also discussed implications for employers as purchasers.

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The Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health, the Pittsburgh Business Group on Health, the Lehigh Valley Business Coalition on Healthcare, and the Central Penn Business Group on Health are partnering to raise employer awareness about the cancer screening crisis and, with our members, mobilize effective outreach to the workforce. This webinar briefly reviewed epidemiologic and economic data about preventable cancers, and discussed relative risks of cancer in relation to COVID-19, making the case for stepping up efforts to help employees access age- and gender-appropriate cancer screening. We also held a roundtable discussion with representatives of employer, provider, payer, and public health organizations who identified best practices for promoting cancer screenings.

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Biologics are the single biggest driver of prescription drug spending. They account for just 2 percent of prescriptions filled, but close to 40 percent of all drug spending. However, biosimilars for these drugs have achieved a small fraction in the US marketplace, and for employers, this represents a huge missed opportunity. The purpose of this webinar was to provide education on the value proposition of biosimilars and current barriers to savings and access. In addition, our speakers provided details of how employers can implement a biosimilars initiative and also heard from an employer and patient about the impact of biosimilars.

Speakers included:

• Neil Goldfarb, President and Chief Executive Officer, Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health
• Juliana Reed, President, Biosimilars Forum -
• Pam Traxel, Vice President for Alliance Development and Philanthropy, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network -
• Margaret Rehayem, VP National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions -

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Our FREE webinar series included experts and peers discussing issues and solutions to address employee health in a pandemic environment.

• Tuesday, January 26, 2021, 12:00pm-1:00pm: Employer Strategies to Address Employee Mental Health in the Actual and Virtual Workplace. and .
• Tuesday, February 2, 2021, 12:00pm-1:00pm: Return to Care: Strategies to Promote Employee Access to Care in a Pandemic. and
• Thursday, February 11, 2021, 12:00pm-1:00pm: How to Lower Risk of Harmful Healthcare: Patient Safety Tools for Employees and Families. and
• Thursday, February 18, 2021, 12:00pm-1:00pm: Addressing Musculoskeletal Issues in the Employed Population During a Pandemic. and

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In advance of Colorectal Cancer Screening Month (March, 2021), GPBCH hosted a webinar focused on how employers can help to ensure that eligible employees and dependents receive guideline-appropriate colorectal cancer screening. The webinar reviewed recommendations and screening alternatives, discussed employer strategies to drive screening rates, and included an employer case study. This webinar was sponsored by Exact Sciences. Speakers included:

• Kim Hutton, MD, Chief Medical Officer, CareATC -
• Tim Bartholow, MD, Chief Medical Officer, WEA Trust -
• David Hines, Executive Director, Benefits, Metro Nashville Public Schools -

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