Removing Barriers That Prevent People from Seeking Care

Businesses regularly try to look for opportunities to reduce health care costs and improve employee productivity by proactively establishing programs and tactics aimed at keeping their employees healthy. However, the needs of those employees who may be socially marginalized and vulnerable are often not considered. Thus, issues such as opioid addictions, transgender health concerns and intimate partner violence often go unaddressed because people are afraid to ask for help or they do not know that assistance is available. But failing to address such issues individually can drive up the costs of care when they cause or contribute to more expensive problems.

“If people are hidden or isolated, and their behaviors are criminalized, they’re likely to be ashamed and fear being told that they’re not eligible for care,” said Stuart Fisk, Director of Strategy at Allegheny Health Network’s Center for Inclusion Health. “This ties directly back to employers because if they have employees who are facing significant barriers to care, their health is going to suffer, their productivity is going to suffer and their ability to keep their job is going to suffer, even if they have insurance.”

Allegheny Health Network (AHN) started its Center for Inclusion Health with the goal of addressing the needs of populations that face significant barriers to care. “Stigma affects the availability of care in a lot of ways,” Fisk said. The Center for Inclusion Health aims to provide health care to everyone in several different ways, including:

• Increasing access for people who face barriers to care including mental health, food insecurity and housing challenges
• Training and educating providers about complex cultural and health needs affecting people facing barriers
• Sustaining care through the ongoing evaluation of care in terms of quality, outcomes and cost

Businesses can benefit from the Center for Inclusion’s services because they address issues employers may not have adequate awareness about, including substance abuse, transgender healthcare, food insecurity, and intimate partner violence. Such issues can become more harmful for employees and costly for businesses if they are not addressed because they connect to one another and collectively become worse when combined.

 “The downstream costs of being able to have employees that have some of their barriers to care eliminated or addressed is a huge plus that employers can’t always see,” said Dr. Elizabeth Cuevas, Division Director for the Center for Inclusion Health. “Employers should understand that these are often hidden epidemics among their employees and that can have an impact on their work.”

All people should have access to high-quality, personalized care. Learn more about the AHN Center for Inclusion Health.

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