WisBusiness: The Podcast with Ellen Sexton, CEO for UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Wisconsin

This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: The Podcast” features a discussion with Ellen Sexton, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Wisconsin.

She discusses the social determinants of health — things like education, housing, food, access to medical care and more. These factors are getting increased attention from insurance companies and other businesses involved in health care, as improving them can lead to fewer costs down the road.

“One of the things that we’re looking at launching is with some of our most complex members, people that have high ER visits and impactable cost of care,” she said. “Actually subsidizing their rent and putting them into housing… then wrap-around support services to get them the care they need, be it substance abuse or working on their diabetes.”

UnitedHealthcare has about 9,000 employees in the state, and covers over 1.6 million people in Wisconsin. Of that number, over 1.2 million are covered through individual or employer-sponsored coverage; about 292,000 are seniors in Medicare Advantage, Part D, Medicare Supplement Plans, and Retiree Services; and some 180,000 are covered through Medicaid and CHIP.