Melissa Newton Smith, Founder of Newton Smith, and Keslie Crichton, Chief Sales Officer of BeneLynk, join Eric to discuss the introduction of the CMS Health Equity Index, which will replace the reward factor within the Medicare Advantage Star Rating program measurement. The Health Equity Index will be a seismic change for Medicare Advantage plans and impact revenue associated with Star Ratings. Melissa and Keslie share success stories from plans preparing for the change.

Links

"Associations Between Annual Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy Loss and Prescription Drug Spending and Use": https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2814604

Book Links

$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America: https://www.amazon.com/2-00-Day-audiobook/dp/B012E8RDS2/ref=sr_1_1?crid=29MW28TUOFAG0&keywords=%242+a+day&qid=1708126201&s=books&sprefix=2+a+day%2Cstripbooks%2C125&sr=1-1

Because I Said I Would: https://store.becauseisaidiwould.org/store/thebook/?_gl=1*qfwy3p*_ga*OTY3NTIzNTYzLjE3MDgxMjYyNDc.*_ga_9YFXHXM1VK*MTcwODEyNjI0Ny4xLjAuMTcwODEyNjI1NC41My4wLjA.

The Ethical Case Manager: https://www.amazon.com/dp/194388918X/ref=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_GVBYY6XZGAK9RK9VRHE8

About Melissa

Melissa is the founder of Newton Smith. She brings over 25 years of experience in Star Ratings, strategy, sales, and marketing for health plans, providers, pharmacy benefit managers, and industry vendors. Most recently, she served as Chief Consulting Officer at Healthmine.

Melissa is a well-known healthcare strategist with proven success developing enterprise-wide solutions to improve Star Ratings, quality performance, health outcomes, and the member experience.

About Keslie

Keslie has worked in managed care for over 25 years, focusing on SDoH solutions that improve members' lives and provide a return on investment for our clients.

Keslie drives enterprise growth and innovative partnerships to improve outreach strategies and health outcomes for our client's members. Keslie works closely with BeneLynk's product team to offer differentiated services and capabilities to maintain its market leader position.

This episode is sponsored by BeneLynk

BeneLynk is a national provider of Social Care solutions for Medicare Advantage and Managed Medicaid health plans. They serve plans and their members by creating a human-to-human connection and providing the assistance a member needs to get the benefits they deserve.