2 min read August 2023 — Invest: interviewed Theresa Scepanski, president & CEO of Community First Health Plans, who spoke about the growing importance of engaging people via social media, how community health plans bring advantages for local employers and the importance of providing support services by looking at non-medical drivers of health.
What are some highlights or milestones from the last 12 months you would like to share?
We continue to diversify as a community health plan and look forward to our continued growth in the marketplace. This is our second year and have seen a steady increase in our membership – an indication of a promising future. We know many individuals in our community will be losing coverage under Medicaid, and our goal is to transition those individuals to our marketplace plan, so they don’t experience a break in their coverage. Another milestone this year is our technology enhancements to expand our digital presence. We know that engaging our community using various social media platforms is critical, so we are growing our presence to provide digital content that is meaningful to our membership.
What are the priorities for your organization in the greater San Antonio market and how do you plan to capitalize on those opportunities?
In San Antonio, we have a large number of small businesses with 50 employees or less. Offering health benefits to their employees can be taxing on a small business owner. As a local not-for-profit managed care organization, we offer alternative solutions for small businesses through our marketplace plan. We offer access to the community at our local office right outside of the downtown area in San Antonio, where we have outreach team members available to provide assistance during open enrollment periods and throughout the year. We know the community because we are from the community. Our name says it all, “Community First”.
What private or public partnerships are you forming to expand the impact of your mission?
San Antonio is fortunate to have so many great community-based organizations that we have partnered with, for close to three decades, addressing non-medical drivers of health such as food, housing, and transportation. Collaborating with other organizations in the community allows us to work together to meet the needs of so many individuals in San Antonio. Building strong partnerships to address social needs can benefit everyone resulting in a win-win-win.
What are the primary challenges of the health landscape in San Antonio?
San Antonio has so much to offer our families. We have parks for recreation, arts, museums, and historical landmarks – and excellent food. Thinking about the health landscape there is always more we can do to educate and improve the health of our community. We continue to focus on initiatives to achieve health equity for our membership and the community. Focusing on health equity, health literacy, and existing resources within our organization, we have designed a framework and model for health equity. Our team focuses on innovative member and provider interventions, and internal policies and processes to improve health literacy and address other factors linked to social disadvantage(s).
What is your outlook for Community First Health Plans, and the overall San Antonio health landscape?
We are optimistic as we continue to grow our Medicaid and CHIP membership. Our strategic goals also include continued growth in our marketplace program by offering excellent health benefits to individuals that are losing other coverage due to the end of the public health emergency. We will continue to invest in technologies and certifications to demonstrate high quality and performance to continuously improve our preventive health care outcomes for our members and the community.
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