Rajeev Ronanki, President of Digital Platforms at Anthem, on VatorNews podcast

How Hydrogen Health will compete with virtual care providers Amazon Care, Teladoc, Amwell, etc.

Bambi Francisco Roizen speaks with Rajeev Ronanki, President of Digital Platforms at Anthem. Anthem is an investor and one of the founders in Hydrogen Health, a joint venture consisting of Anthem, Blackstone and K Health. Anthem is also an investor in K Health. The interview is largely around Hydrogen.

Highlights from the interview:

- Anthem's digital platform is far and wide, from interfacing with members to automating its internal operations

- K Health is integrated with Anthem and available to its self-insured and fully-insured members. K Health is a digital app interfacing with consumers to triage their symptoms. In 2023, K Health will be offered to Anthem's Medicaid and Medicare population.

- To effectively work with self-insured employers, Hydrogen Health was formed. While K Health is an integral offering, employers also need to integrate other solutions, such as home health, lab tests, and in-person services, and have a seamless experience for its members.

- Hydrogen positions itself as targeting employees with no primary care provider. On average, about 20% of employees don't have a PCP. But studies show those with PCPs have better health outcomes. By offering Hydrogen, people can get access to a PCP. 

- Hydrogen competes with the many telehealth virtual offerings such as Amazon Care, Teladoc, Cigna's MDLive, Amwell, Doctor on Demand. Ronanki says the Hydrogen offering is far more integrated with secondary care.  

- Anthem is the underlying insurance for many self-insured employers, so the Hydrogen offering could also open up doors for Anthem to acquire new customers. 

- The Hydrogen value proposition from an economic standpoint is that there are performance incentives to improve employee productivity and reduce total cost of care. 

- The leading KPIs are engagement. Then if people are using capabilities, outcomes can be measured, such as the improvement of conditions.    

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