Healthcare Non-Profits’ Critical Role

Non-profit healthcare has always been the backbone of our nation’s healthcare system. Now as America wrestles with an aging society, shrinking resources and increasing government regulation, it is more critical than ever that nonprofits continue to take the lead in service, quality and affordability.  

The contributions that non-profit hospitals and health plans provide to our nation’s health cannot be overstated. Non-profit hospitals provide charity care for those unable to pay; offer programs directed at vulnerable populations; deliver unprofitable healthcare services that would otherwise be missing from a community (trauma care, burn care, etc.); and anticipate their community’s future healthcare needs through supporting medical education, research and training.  

As their payer counterparts, non-profit insurers feel an equal sense of responsibility and accountability to those they serve, which is why nonprofit health plans have led the way in lowering infant mortality rates, elevating percentages of childhood immunizations, promoting mammograms, and establishing barometers of quality measurement previously unmatched. 

The differences between for-profits and nonprofits have not gone unnoticed by the most important audience of all – those they serve. Earlier this year J.D. Power and Associates released its 2013 Member Health Plan Study, surveying more than 33,000 members belonging to 136 commercial health plans across the country. Once again nonprofit health plans bested for-profits in consumer satisfaction just as they have for many years. At SCAN we know this first hand. Our most recent survey showed a 97.6% member satisfaction rate with our plan with 92.5 percent of SCAN members saying that we’ve played an important role in helping to manage their health.

With healthcare in such turmoil and trust in our nation’s healthcare system teetering, nonprofits are uniquely positioned to make a positive difference. But to do so we must continue to lead the way in three important areas:

• Continuing to Listen ─ Non-profits have a long history of listening to their customers and asking them what they want. At SCAN every fall we invite all of our 130,000 members to “Member Straight Talks” where representatives from our executive team discuss what’s ahead for the coming year and engage in face-to-face dialogue with our members, answering their questions and hearing what they want regarding benefits, customer service and educational resources that will allow them to stay well. Talking is good. Listening is better.

• Continuing to Innovate ─ Because non-profits have no shareholders, and thus no bifurcated loyalties, we can take the longer view and invest in programs and services that may not have quick financial returns or satisfy the quarterly earnings appetite of Wall Street. And rather than excess earnings over expenses turning into dividends for shareholders, the earnings of a nonprofit are reinvested back into the company and the community through programs that improve quality, service and efficiencies. These dollars lead to innovations in disease management, care for chronic conditions, and much, much more.

• Continuing to Give Back ─ There is nothing more intrinsically woven into the fabric of nonprofit healthcare than the concept of “giving back” and every nonprofit organization finds its own way of doing it. At SCAN we have resource centers in Ventura and Phoenix, which provide classes and social interaction for all area seniors, not just our members. We also hold “Classrooms in the Community,” bring health information and screenings to the community with our “SCAN Van,” conduct interactive workshops (“Trading Ages”) that demonstrate the challenges of aging, and make direct financial contributions to community-based organizations who share our mission. 

The Alliance for Advancing Nonprofit Healthcare has rightfully called the nonprofit sector “society’s safety net” and said it is where we go for “solving our most troubling social problems.” That is a responsibility nonprofits welcome as we continue to protect the values and culture of our society.

Chris Wing is the chief executive officer of SCAN Health Plan in Long Beach.