diversity

Close to 5,800 KP members in the Mid-Atlantic States get their Kaiser Permanente coverage through SEIU 32BJ, a regional union representing building service workers. Many of them speak English as their second language. To help this group get the most for their health care dollars, KP and 32BJ kicked off a campaign in April and May to educate and engage new 32BJ union members.

Maria Naranjo, deputy director, SEIU 32BJ Capital Area District, led the campaign with the help of Brenda Muñoz, labor liaison and analyst, KP Office of Labor Management Partnership. The field team included two 32BJ staff members and seven 32BJ members (four were bilingual). Of the seven 32BJ members, six already were KP members who could share their own experiences with KP.

“We want 32BJ members to be champions of health and KP in their workplace—and to do this, they need to understand their plan coverage and how KP works,” says Muñoz.

Team hits the field

The team visited close to 300 worksites and collected more than 1,100 names and phone numbers of members they spoke with. In addition, 32BJ sent 5,000 text messages and KP’s Regional Access Services staff placed more than 2,600 outreach calls to help members choose a physician, make appointments, identify health needs and learn about an upcoming heath fair. The goal was to provide as many touch points as possible by contacting members via mail, phone and in-person visits.

At the end of the campaign, Kaiser Permanente and 32BJ hosted a health fair at the D.C. Convention Center. It was the first time 32BJ partnered with a health plan to host a health fair. More than 100 32BJ members and family members attended and were offered free health screenings for blood pressure, BMI, glucose and total cholesterol.

Attendees also had a chance to meet with a KP physician, enroll in My Health Manager, select a primary care physician, make future appointments, ask questions and learn more about the KP system. Additional resources at the fair included workplace safety tips, healthy lunch tips and answers on health plan benefit questions. SEIU 32BJ was impressed with the health fair, which got positive feedback from attendees.

Creating value for members

Throughout the campaign, the team learned a lot about KP’s SEIU 32BJ members and their needs. The team identified several areas for improvement, and it is determining how to continue to engage these members through workshops, further education, health fairs and promotion of preventive health.

“SEIU 32BJ is a potential growth area,” Muñoz says. “In order to retain these members and encourage growth, we must provide the resources they need to show them that KP is not only committed to providing them with high-quality health care, but that we can provide culturally competent care.”

An earlier version of this story appeared in Inside KP Mid-Atlantic States, July 2, 2014.

For more than 10 years, Kaiser Permanente’s Child Health Program has been veiled in relative obscurity despite the extraordinary service it offers.

Even more unknown is the role KP enrollment processors in Northern California, who are represented by OPEIU Local 29, are playing in helping the charitable health program fulfill KP’s mission of serving our communities.

“I like to say that we’re the best-kept secret of KP,” says Sharlene Jones, an enrollment processor who screens applicants for eligibility and guides them through the sign-up process. The community benefit program provides comprehensive medical, dental and optical coverage at little or no cost to children ages 19 and younger whose family income falls below the federal poverty level and who have no other coverage options.

Since August, the Oakland-based enrollment processors have attended more than 40 health coverage enrollment or outreach events across Northern California, from informational sessions at small medical clinics to large events like the “We Connect Health Care” enrollment and resource fair in Fresno, which drew thousands of people. The processors answer any question thrown at them about the Child Health Program and help enroll those who qualify.

“Our processors are able to help families right on the spot,” says Sara Hurd, a former employee who until recently led outreach for the program. “They know what challenges are and how to work through them.”

Long-lasting value

The Child Health Program has a goal of enrolling 80,000 qualified children across Northern and Southern California. The work the Local 29 members are doing to help meet that goal fits within the framework of Labor Management Partnership efforts to grow the number of Kaiser Permanente members—and to establish positive member relationships that can last a lifetime.

As outreach coordinator, Hurd’s priority was getting the word out about the program and forging relationships with community organizations. She also served as the sole contact for prospective applicants at outreach events—but she didn’t have the detailed enrollment knowledge the Local 29 processors have.

Maury Rosas, manager of Charitable Health Coverage operations, reached out to enlist the processors’ help. Including them in the work, Hurd says, “has been invaluable”—and as of May 2014, more than 77,000 children were enrolled.

“We needed people who really understood what the applications are about and could help people with eligibility,” Rosas says. Before he requested their help in the field, the enrollment processors’ interactions with potential qualifying applicants were by phone or letter.

“We’re able to answer their questions,” Jones says. “It allows us to put a face on KP.”

Many of the processers who attend the events have bilingual certification and are skilled in walking applicants through enrollment in Spanish.

“It’s important to show (the public) that we’re not just sitting behind a desk, pushing papers,” says Miriam Garcia, an enrollment processor. “We’re the labor force behind it all….We’re here to work with the community and are proud of KP.”

Demonstrating a commitment

The effort has been an unqualified success, Rosas says, from community agencies asking for repeat visits to the response of the children’s parents.

“They took me by the hand and walked me through the process of completing the application and made me feel comfortable with the process,” says Rufina Garcia, speaking through a Spanish interpreter. Garcia enrolled her three children in the program at an outreach event in March. “This has been the first time when I could walk in and give my information and be signed up right there.”

Delivering on KP’s mission in partnership between labor and management also helps build relationships with potential union-oriented purchasers of health care, says Katy McKenzie, a consultant to LMP and its membership growth work.

“It goes a long way when you’re talking to unions that represent low-wage workers,” McKenzie says. “They see that we actually do care about caring for people and our communities. It’s not just about selling something to them.”

McKenzie and others involved in the growth work helped promote the Child Health Program to unions representing low-wage or part-time workers, such as laundry or home care workers—people who don’t get dependent health care coverage as part of their job benefits or who can’t afford what is offered to them.

 “It’s a great opportunity to see that management is working with labor as a team,” Miriam Garcia says. “We’re not only supporting KP, but we’re supporting our own labor force.  We’re showing that we can work together and make a change. We’re helping make a change that carries over into the community.”

That kind of caring makes an impression. Rufina Garcia, who only has catastrophic medical coverage for herself, says she would choose Kaiser Permanente for her whole family given the chance.

“It has been a wonderful experience,” she says. “The way they treat my children is incredible. (The doctors and nurses) are very caring—they have more patience and actually listen to the kids….I believe they take better care of my children.”