Ohio is known for its prestigious health care systems, a testament to the state's leadership in improving the health of the millions of people served within its borders. Many Ohioans and their families have developed trusting, personal relationships with their doctors, hospitals and medical teams throughout their lives. Yet for many Ohio employers seeking to provide better health care to their employees, the pressing question remains: what can we do to increase the
accountability in the system so that our employees can actually improve their health?
Nationwide, the quality of employee health care should be at the center of the business community's attention. Employers are investing heavily in health care, but patient outcomes are not keeping pace with rising costs. Take chronic diseases, for example. The rising prevalence of chronic diseases (e.g., diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and other health problems) leads to long-term health consequences for employees and costs U.S. employers more than $36 billion a year. The ever-increasing costs associated with health care, including the rising cost of premiums, are forcing companies to make difficult compromises on benefits and wages. In addition, Deloitte estimates that health disparities result in annual health care costs of about $320 billion, and if left unaddressed, that number could grow to $1 trillion or more by 2040.
For the more than 50 percent of Ohioans who receive health insurance through their employer, we believe that improving access to quality, affordable health care is part of creating an inclusive economy, and there are tangible opportunities ahead to reorient the health care system so that individuals and families receive the best care possible.
Accelerating the adoption of new approaches to care
In 2021, JPMorganChase launched Morgan Health, a division dedicated to improving health care for the 285,000-plus employees and dependents covered by the company's health insurance plan, as well as the 180 million U.S. residents insured by their employer. Our mission is to accelerate new approaches to health care delivery that improve quality, access and equity.
Morgan Health invests funds from its JPMorganChase balance sheet to expand promising health care companies that meet employer and employee demand for new approaches to care delivery. Our priorities are focused on giving consumers more choices in insurance coverage, more options for care at home or anywhere, and a better relationship with a physician and team of specialists focused on proactively managing their health.
To date, Morgan Health has deployed $155 million in capital, including investments in six early-stage healthcare companies with innovations to address employer-sponsored healthcare needs: apreehealth (primary care), Embold Health (data and analytics), Centivo (affordable health plan options), Kindbody (birth planning), LetsGetChecked (home diagnostics) and Personify Health (care navigation).
Measuring success through improved results
Morgan Health's innovative strategy is focused on increasing accountability in the system, especially among providers, health insurance companies and others involved in the delivery of health care to those who are insured by an employer. Ohio, as one of the company's largest centers, is an important starting point for our efforts. Through our partnership with Vera Whole Health (part of apree health), which offers
and Central Ohio Primary Care (COPC), one of the largest physician-owned primary care groups in the U.S., we began offering their comprehensive health care services to our employees and their families in Ohio in 2022.
The Vera/COPC model builds on the foundation of primary care by developing the patient-physician relationship through longer appointments and compassionate listening. It is a supportive, human-centered approach to health care in which the underlying causes of illness are identified and actively discussed. Vera/COPC offers participating employees the opportunity to work with a team of specialists at the service centers who will coordinate all aspects of their medical care.
Our goal is simple: to improve the health of our 20,000-plus Ohio employees and their families while creating an easily scalable, high-quality care model that other employers across the state could implement and offer to their employees. Notably, apree recently announced a new partnership with Elevance, the third largest insurer in the country, which opens the door to further scaling this model.
As part of the apree program, we have introduced performance guarantees based on several targets to support our employees and dependents. These include measuring access to same-day appointments, follow-up on clinical recommendations (e.g., screenings or coaching) and overall satisfaction with health care.
It's still early days, but we are already seeing our employees actively engaging with their Vera/COPC providers and are pleased with the care they are receiving." In the first year of the program, 31% of eligible employees in Ohio visited one of the new service centers, and 76% of employees who met with a Vera health coach returned for care. To date, the service centers have achieved an NPS score of 87, demonstrating that investments in primary care pay off when backed by the right tools and strategy.
We intend to be fully transparent about our work and progress so that others can learn and grow from our experience. If the business community collectively pushes for greater accountability of the system, we can make a real difference in addressing the health inequalities faced by employees and the country as a whole.
We know that improving the health of the nation's workforce is no easy task, and the challenges facing the health care system, employers and employees are many. That's why we take a long-term approach.
We hope we can create meaningful change and empower others to walk with us because we know we can't do it alone. Supporting our employees - and, by extension, all Ohio employees and their families - is the foundation of our work. We look forward to what we can accomplish together.