The Health of America

Overdose survivors come through this busy Newark ER nearly every day, many of them returning patients. Doctors and nurses don’t always have the time or resources to connect patients right away to addiction treatment. Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey saw a window of opportunity in the ER. The health plan and a partner hospital system have embedded peer recovery specialists, right in the ER. They're on the ER team, with an office right near exam rooms. And they can literally rush to the bedside before a patient is discharged.

In some rural Tennessee counties, infant mortality rates are as high as they are in many third world countries. Part of the reason: a lack of access to the right healthcare. Rural women facing high risk pregnancies miss out on the specialty care they need to avoid complications. They may lack transportation, money for gas, or time off work. Now, in a growing number of counties, they don’t have to miss those critical appointments. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee is partnering with obstetrics specialists in Chattanooga on a major telemedicine network to serve rural women. Proof it's working: a growing number of healthy moms and babies.

Rural America is struggling to attract and keep doctors. One reason: most doctors end up practicing where they train, which is usually in a metropolitan area. What's more, many rural hospitals are closing. Add to that the fact that some rural residents face higher rates of chronic disease. It's a crisis in the making for rural communities. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska asked this question: why not train doctors in small towns? An investment in that strategy is paying off, providing thousands of dollars in scholarships for students who agree to stay and practice in rural areas.

In Newark, New Jersey’s South Ward neighborhood, chronic health conditions are cutting lives short. In the hardest hit ZIP codes, healthy food, convenient transportation and primary care doctors are hard to come by. Many people go the emergency room when they’re sick. What if you approached patients right in the ER, and offered a personal health team to help them get the regular care they need? That’s the pilot program underway at Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey, where data about poor health in these neighborhoods inspired a new approach.

Construction workers in Massachusetts are six times more likely to die from an opioid overdose than workers in any other profession. Overdoses are even happening more and more on the job. Who do you bring to the table to tackle a problem like that? Shawmut Design and Construction decided to speak out and ask for help. That help came from what might seem an unlikely source – their health insurer. But as they began to tackle the problem together, all the right building blocks were there. In this episode, we head to a construction site, where, until recently, addiction was a private struggle. That’s changing, thanks in part to the team who custom-designed a lifesaving kit for the industry.