Health Care Disparities & Cultural Competency

Racial and ethnic minorities receive lower-quality health care than white people — even when insurance status, income, age and severity of conditions are comparable — according to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science.

WellPoint is keenly attuned to the issue of cultural disparities in health care. We’re committed to improving the well-being of all our members by offering education and support to empower them to take charge of their health. For these efforts we have received numerous honors, among them the National Committee for Quality Assurance’s Recognizing Innovation in Multicultural Health Care Award.

Diabetes Health Care

Although 24 million Americans age 20 or older have diabetes, it doesn’t affect them equally. African Americans and Hispanics are hit harder by the complexities of diabetes than any other racial or ethnic groups in the country today. They have a higher incidence of limited mobility, peripheral artery disease, kidney disease, nerve damage, blindness, lower-extremity infection and amputation, and premature death.

Health Equities Pilot

Through extensive research and surveys of Hispanic and African American adults with diabetes, WellPoint identified the opportunity to drive positive change through outreach and engagement strategies and culturally relevant materials. Messages in both English and Spanish were incorporated into a variety of communications channels, from DVDs to fast-food and cooking guides to a website and booklets on depression. All materials were designed to promote health awareness and motivate members to better manage their diabetes. SOMOS and PRIDE, our resource groups for Hispanic and African American associates, reviewed the materials and provided suggestions to ensure their cultural relevance.

WellPoint received the Bronze Web Health Award from the Health Information Resource Center, recognizing us for our outstanding efforts in the development and design of a bilingual portal for Hispanic participants with diabetes. We won additional National Health Information Awards for the suites of culturally appropriate materials developed for this pilot, chosen from more than 1,000 of the nation’s best consumer health information programs and materials recognized by the American Diabetes Association.

To date, WellPoint has communicated the findings from this pilot at several professional conferences, including those sponsored by the NIH, the APHA, the BCBSA and the CDC.

Taking Action Together

WellPoint enjoys an ongoing partnership with Merck to support the American Diabetes Association. The partnership addresses health care disparities in populations with diabetes by increasing community engagement and providing innovative diabetes solutions. Specially trained diabetes educators offer sessions in English and Spanish about healthy eating, blood glucose monitoring, myths vs. facts, the natural course of diabetes and possible complications.

Finding Answers

In 2010, WellPoint received a three-year grant under the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s “Finding Answers: Disparities Research for Change” program, which examines what programs and approaches work and don’t work in reducing racial and ethnic health care disparities. The goal is to replicate successful programs in other communities and reduce health disparities in the United States. WellPoint will share its research results with the general medical community through the program’s forums.

WellPoint’s research builds on the findings and materials used in the diabetes health equities pilot to study how culturally tailored health education, combined with patient incentives, affects sustained blood-sugar control in patients with poorly managed diabetes.

The research is being conducted in collaboration with select physician practices in California, Georgia, New York, Ohio and Virginia, as well as the Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research in the School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles.

Online Provider Resource Center

This innovative website provides health care professionals with a comprehensive set of tools for understanding and addressing racial and cultural health disparities in each of the markets served by WellPoint.

The site offers the latest research on the issue, resources for communicating with diverse populations, links to training courses and information on federal guidelines for providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services. Resources include health education and disease-specific materials in both Spanish and Chinese, as well as materials designed for low-literacy readers. Tips on providing translations during an office visit and links to assessment tools that will help physicians better understand the populations they serve are also available.

Improving the Health Care Experience

Minority communities tend to have greater difficulties with the American health care system than others do. The key to closing this gap lies in strengthening the links between health care providers and their patients. “High-tech” clinical approaches are less important than “high-talk” efforts that provide social support, outreach, consistent follow-up, preventive care, community and family education and community mobilization. Also available through the Provider Resource Center is an Internet-based training course to support the outreach efforts of community-based health educators. It offers communication and facilitation tools, an enhanced awareness of chronic disease support programs and an easy-to-follow approach to help their patients develop effective health communication skills.

In addition WellPoint released in 2009 Caring for Diverse Populations, a toolkit developed by a team of health care professionals to address the specific issues that arise in a culturally diverse practice because of changing service requirements, patients’ expectations and legal mandates.

Language Assistance Programs

We have trained more than 4,400 of our associates serving California members on the implications of the state’s Senate Bill 853, which concerns language assistance provided by health care plans and insurers. A free language-assistance program is now helping our members with limited English proficiency in California better understand their health care benefits. WellPoint offers services in five languages — Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Tagalog. Interpreters for other languages are provided through a third-party vendor.

Reaching Spanish-Speaking Members

WellPoint offers an online Spanish-language video that introduces members to our most popular health and wellness programs, benefits and educational materials. The resource contains links to a wealth of documents, including materials on how to access the provider directory and useful tips about such issues as healthy diet, mammography screening, immunizations and controlling blood pressure.