Morgan Health CEO: Here’s how we’re making the health system more accountable to Ohioans

Ohio is recognized for its prestigious health care systems, a testament to the state’s leadership in improving the health of the millions served within its borders. Many Ohioans and their families have established trusted, personal relationships with their doctors, hospitals and care teams over a lifetime of milestone moments. And yet for many Ohio employers looking to provide their employees with a better health care experience, there’s a salient question on the table—what can we do to bring more accountability to the system so our employees can actually improve their health?

Nationally, the quality of employees’ health care should be top of mind for the business community. Employers invest significantly into their health care benefits–only for patient outcomes not to keep pace with increasing costs. Take chronic diseases for example. The rising prevalence of chronic conditions (e.g., diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and other health concerns) pose long-term health consequences for employees and cost U.S. employers more than $36 billion a year. The ever-increasing expense associated with medical care—including the rising cost of insurance premiums—forces difficult trade-offs for companies when it comes to benefits and wages. Further, an estimate from Deloitte suggests that health inequities account for approximately $320 billion in annual health care spending, and if left unaddressed, this figure could grow to $1 trillion or more by 2040.

For the more than 50 percent of Ohioans who receive health coverage through their employer, we believe improved 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 individuals and families receive the best care possible.

Accelerating new approaches to care

In 2021, JPMorganChase launched Morgan Health, a business unit to improve health care for the 285,000+ employees and dependents covered by the firm’s health insurance plan, as well as the 180 million people in the U.S. with employer-sponsored insurance. Our mission is to accelerate the adoption of new approaches to care delivery that improve the quality, affordability and equity of care.

Morgan Health invests from the JPMorganChase balance sheet to scale promising health care companies that are meeting employer and employee demand for new approaches to care delivery. Our priorities are designed to give consumers more choices when it comes to their insurance coverage, greater ability to receive care at home or wherever they may be, and a better relationship with their doctor and a care team focused on proactively managing their health.

Morgan Health has deployed $155 million in capital to date, including investments in six early-stage health care companies with innovations addressing unmet needs in employer-sponsored health care: apree health (primary care), Embold Health (data and analytics), Centivo (affordable health plan options), Kindbody (fertility planning), LetsGetChecked  (at-home diagnostics) and Personify Health (care navigation).

Measuring success through improved outcomes

Morgan Health’s innovation strategy is anchored in driving greater accountability in the system, especially among providers, health insurance companies and others involved in the delivery of care to those with employer-sponsored insurance. As one of the firm’s largest hubs, Ohio is an important starting point for our efforts. Through our partnership with Vera Whole Health (part of apree health), a company that offers an advanced primary care and coordinated care experience, and with Central Ohio Primary Care (COPC), one of the largest physician-owned primary care groups in the U.S., we began offering their comprehensive health services to our Ohio-based employees and their families in 2022.

The Vera/COPC model builds on the foundation of primary care by nurturing the patient-provider relationship with longer appointments and empathetic listening. It’s a supportive, human approach to health care where underlying causes are discovered and discussed proactively. Vera/COPC offers participating employees the opportunity to work with a dedicated care team at the care centers who will coordinate all aspects of their health care.

Our goal is simple: to improve health outcomes for the firm’s 20,000+ Ohio-based employees and their families, while building an easily scalable and high-quality care model that other employers across the state could incorporate and offer to their employees. Notably, apree recently announced a new partnership with Elevance, the nation’s third largest insurer, which offers the potential to further scale this model.

With apree, we implemented performance guarantees based on several targeted metrics to support our employees and dependents. These include measuring access to same-day appointments, follow-up on clinical engagements (like screenings or coaching) and overall satisfaction of the health care experience.

It’s still early days, but we are already seeing that our employees are highly engaged with their Vera/COPC providers and are satisfied with the care they receive. In the program’s first year, 31 percent of eligible employees in Ohio visited one of the new care centers and 76 percent of employees who met with a Vera health coach returned for care. To date, the care centers have achieved an NPS score of 87–underscoring that investments in primary care are worthwhile when backed by the right tools and strategy.

We intend to be fully transparent about our work and progress so others can learn and evolve from our experience. By the business community collectively pushing for greater accountability in the system, we can make a real difference in addressing the health inequities facing employees and the country at large.

We know improving the health of the nation’s workforce is a tall order—and the challenges facing the health system, employers and employees are numerous. That’s why we’re taking a long-term approach. Our hope is that we can create meaningful change and empower others to come along with us because we know we can’t do it alone. Supporting our employees—and by extension all Ohio employees and their families—is at the core of our work. We look forward to what we can achieve together.

For more information about Morgan Health and how JPMorganChase is helping to advance an inclusive economy in Ohio and beyond, visit morganhealth.com. 

Dan Mendelson is chief executive officer of Morgan Health.