2021-04-21 OMA Agenda - Board of Trustees

STOP Obesity Alliance/Novo Nordisk/OCAN Workgroup: As a first step toward standardizing the availability of obesity care across plans, the STOP Obesity Alliance has designed a comprehensive obesity benefit (go.gwu.edu/obesitybenefit) that provides guidance on the core components of obesity care and the conditions under which these services and/or items ought to be covered. Development of this benefit was informed by input from experts and key stakeholders, including representatives from large employers, health care plans and payers, patients and providers. Through STOP’s work with Novo Nordisk, we have been able to share the comprehensive obesity benefit with individuals working on their health care plans: St. Louis BHC, National Rail Labor Conference benefits coordinator, NJ SEBP, State of Connecticut Employee Health Plan, MUSC Regional Health Network in South Carolina, BCBS Arkansas- Health Advantage, UNC Medical Center and the Business Group on Health Potential future actions include: • Identify a large employer champion that has committed to implement the comprehensive obesity benefit for their employees and create opportunities to lift up their experience. • Continue to share the comprehensive obesity benefit with employers, individuals who make decisions on benefit design, and health care plans that are competing for employers. Channels could include journal publications, targeted media outreach and speaking engagements. • Share the comprehensive obesity benefit with state and federal policymakers as well as avenues for inclusion in state employee health plans, Medicaid and Medicare. STOP is currently gathering data on the utilization of obesity care benefits in State Employee Health plans for at least ten states. The insights from this research would align prevalence of obesity as a disease to the access and utilization of benefits. I have been working with the work group since 2020 – participating in weekly calls on strategy and targeting and was able to persuade the work group to focus its deep dive regarding utilization of benefits on a majority of the states that OMA has identified for state advocacy efforts.

Examples of OMA State Specific Advocacy Resources: OMA PENNSYLVANIA CHAPTER ADVOCACY RESOURCES

OMA VIRGINIA CHAPTER ADVOCACY RESOURCES