Independence Health Group President and CEO Gregory Deavens is optimistic about the future of health equity despite President Donald Trump denouncing programs tailored for underserved segments of the population.
Deavens will retire from the Independence Blue Cross parent company, which he has led since 2021 after joining as executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer in 2017, at the end of the year.
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During his tenure, revenue grew and the company helped establish the Regional Coalition to Eliminate Race-Based Medicine with Philadelphia-area hospitals, according to a Jan. 29 news release announcing Deavens' departure.
Independence Blue Cross, known locally as IBX, formed alliances with local health systems and laboratories to eliminate a test that assessed Black patients' kidney function differently than other racial groups and decreased their odds of receiving transplants. Deavens said more than 700 Black patients get on the transplant list and more than 60 received new kidneys as a result.
“It really is something that has had a lifesaving effect on our fellow citizens,” Deavens said. “We're really excited about expanding that to other tests.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Companies have rolled back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives after Trump called them “illegal and immoral discrimination.” Does Independence Health Group plan to continue this work?
We do work with a lot of local businesses, some of whom are small or have diverse owners. That has had a beneficial impact on the economy in this region. It really is not a situation where we're selecting vendors based on race. We are, rather, going into spaces and convening meetings that give those diverse vendors who might not ever have had the opportunity to work with us and help them understand, what are the requirements if you want to be a vendor? What are some of the opportunities that are coming up? It’s giving them a fair shot at pursuing the business opportunity.
Independence is going to continue its work with diverse vendors to give them an equal shot.
Why does Independence Blue Cross not cover pharmaceuticals that receive accelerated approval from the Food and Drug Administration?
Our intent is to make sure that our members are safe in terms of the treatments that are available to them.
We are constantly monitoring to make sure that we consider any new clinical trial evidence or other clinical evidence that supports the indication.
Some of those medications that may have gone through that accelerated approval process, or even in advance of the approval process, would have clinical trials undertaken. We do have benefits that assist our members if they want to be involved in clinical trials.
What is your outlook for Medicare Advantage under Trump?
We've heard that the Trump administration is a supporter of Medicare Advantage.
Under the prior administration, there were some challenges, particularly related to the Star Ratings program. We think that some of those changes may be reversed. One of the things that we understand to be on the table is the health equity index.
There were also some efforts made to tighten the requirements for star ratings. The Biden administration was looking to wring out a significant amount of cost from the bonuses. There have been some suggestions that may be amended.
We also saw some rate actions in prior years that didn't necessarily keep pace with the underlying medical cost trends. I'm hopeful that, with the new administration, there'll be more alignment.
In his first term, Trump invited states to enact work requirements for Medicaid enrollees. How would that affect Independence Blue Cross?
There are significant numbers of Medicaid-eligible individuals who work already. Some may not be able to work because of physical disabilities.
We do think it will increase the administrative burden because there'll be a potential requirement for plans to collect that data. On the margin — to the extent that members are not able to provide that information on a timely basis — it could affect their coverage. But by and large, we don't think it's going to have that dramatic an impact, as long as the requirement around reporting is not too onerous.
Do you think Congress will extend the enhanced exchange subsidies past 2025?
Roughly 24 million Americans rely on those tax credits to secure their coverage. Certainly I would expect, to the extent that those credits go away, I'm sure that would have an impact on the ability of individuals and families to afford the coverage.
About 67% of our members in Pennsylvania receive tax subsidies. It’s something that we're keeping a very close eye on so that we understand how to provide any option available to our members to ensure that they have the best opportunity to retain coverage.
Why are Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurers restructuring to create holding companies?
Having a holding company allows you to engage in other businesses.
The Medicaid business that we're in is a joint venture between ourselves and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. We have a commercial insurance business in New Jersey. We have a third-party administrator business that services customers across many states.
The holding company structure allows you to have those other types of operations sitting side-by-side with your core Blue Cross insurance operation.
How does Independence Blue Cross use artificial intelligence?
One of the ways that we're using AI is to help our customer service reps answer questions that individual members may have about their coverage.
We do use it to aggregate some information that's used in the underwriting [and] pricing process.
We continue to look for additional ways to utilize that technology going forward. That is an area that has a great potential to drive efficiency and make the healthcare ecosystem easier for individuals to navigate. I'm really optimistic about the potential of AI.
