Subscribe to the pod Pre-Register for Our Live Webinars

Health Equity and SDOH: Leveraging Data and Measures

Health Equity and SDOH: Leveraging Data and Measures

R.J. Briscione

Senior Director, Social
Determinants of Health
Strategy & Execution, Aetna,
a CVS Health Company

R.J. leads the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) team for CVS Health, scaling SDoH Strategy across the CVS Health Enterprise for all lines of CVS and Aetna Businesses in support of the company’s “Destination: Health” platform to focus on community health and address social determinant gaps. Prior to this role, R.J. led Medicaid Business Development for Aetna’s East Region, leading teams in all stages of proposal response for multi-year, Medicaid-managed care contracts. He joined Aetna in 2016, bringing more than 10 years of experience in healthcare services for government programs as well as large-scale management of political campaigns. Prior to joining Aetna, R.J. served as director of Medicaid and Duals Operations in multiple states for Anthem Inc. Prior to working in healthcare, R.J. worked for the Georgia House of Representatives, and spent 10 years with Delta Air Lines in various operational roles. He holds a BS in Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Katie McKillen

Regional President, Market
Operations, Evolent Health

Over the last five years at Evolent, Katie has focused on Medicaid health plan operations ensuring members have access to the highest quality care. She started her career in healthcare working in non-profit hospital management consulting addressing issues of access to care and patient financial advocacy. Katie later joined the Peace Corps to combine her interests in international health, travel, and community development and served two years in Armenia. Throughout her career, she’s worked on a variety of healthcare initiatives including housing impacts on health, the financial infrastructure of domestic violence centers, access to healthy food, and population health analytics. Katie holds a Master’s degree in Health Policy & Management from Harvard’s School of Public Health.

Amy Riegel

Senior Director, Housing,
CareSource

Amy designs strategies that address the Social Determinants of Health specifically focused on innovative and sustainable approaches to integrating health and housing. She is focused on building collaborative partnerships to address affordable housing through development, financing, and policy with an emphasis on improved health outcomes. She initiated and led the deployment of $50M strategic investments in affordable housing across multiple states with more than a dozen CDFIs. She oversees CareSource’s role as a strategic leader, funder, and implementation partner in Healthy Beginnings at Home, a nationally recognized research study looking at the relationship between housing stability and healthy birth outcomes. Previously she was the Director of JobConnect Ohio at CareSource, leading the effort to assist Medicaid members in removing barriers to high-quality employment opportunities.

Prior to joining CareSource, Amy worked as a community developer with nonprofits and government agencies. She provided policy leadership and designed programs in the areas of housing development, asset-based community development, community engagement, education, and homelessness. She serves on numerous Boards within Ohio and nationally that are focused on poverty elimination, affordable housing, and neighborhood revitalization.

Nick Jones

Director, Healthy
Neighborhoods Healthy
Families, Nationwide
Children's Hospital

In his time with Nationwide Children’s, Nick has overseen significant program growth addressing health equity and social determinants of health issues through affordable housing, employment, education, safety, and wellness interventions. Prior to his role at Nationwide Children’s, Nick served as Chief Operating Officer for Boys & Girls Clubs of Columbus. Nick has over 13 years of professional experience in social services and healthcare administration. Nick is married with one child. He holds a J.D. and MBA

Merrill Friedman RVP

Inclusive Policy and Advocacy, Anthem, Inc.

Merrill leads the execution and advocacy strategy for Anthem.  She works collaboratively with consumers, advocates and stakeholders to ensure diverse interests and preferences of various communities e.g., disability, aging, LGBTQA+, and Foster Care inform Anthem’s health benefits approaches and healthcare programs. Ms. Friedman advances the integration of the independent living philosophy and the National Advisory Board (NAB) on Improving Healthcare Services for Older Adults and People with Disabilities six foundational principles throughout programs, individual interactions, and business practices. In addition, she leads strategic partnerships with national and local organizations to advance the development of inclusive public policy relating to healthcare equity and access.

Merrill is a nationally recognized leader in Medicaid, long-term services and supports, and health services that reflect the needs and interests of older adults, people with disabilities, and children and adolescents. She has served on numerous national boards and commissions.  She was appointed by President Barack Obama to the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities.  Currently, Merrill serves on the board of directors for Family Voices and the Long-Term Quality Alliance (LTQA) and is a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) and the NASUAD MLTSS Institute Advisory Board.

Health Equity and SDOH: Leveraging Data and Measures

Achieving health equity begins with an ability to identify health disparities and their causes. However, health plans must have complete and accurate data on race, ethnicity, and other drivers of health in order to identify health care disparities, find the root causes and craft targeted interventions to reduce them and improve health outcomes. Without adequate data and measures, inequities remain unseen and unaddressed.

Our expert panel will discuss the importance of leveraging data and analytics to understand, measure, and support equity improvement efforts. They will share successful strategies and best practices you can bring back to your organization.

Topics for discussion include:

  • Harnessing social needs data to remove barriers and tailor services
  • Understanding challenges in collecting and reporting data on race, ethnicity, and social determinants
  • Addressing issues of health literacy and cultural competency
  • Applying a data-driven approach to inform SDOH investment
  • Partnering with trusted entities such as community-based organizations to obtain data
  • Understanding current and proposed quality measures on identifying disparities

R.J. Briscione

Senior Director, Social
Determinants of Health
Strategy & Execution, Aetna,
a CVS Health Company

Katie McKillen

Regional President, Market
Operations, Evolent Health

Amy Riegel

Senior Director, Housing,
CareSource

Nick Jones

Director, Healthy
Neighborhoods Healthy
Families, Nationwide
Children's Hospital

Merrill Friedman RVP

Inclusive Policy and Advocacy, Anthem, Inc.

  • SUBSCRIBE

    to the Bright Spots in Healthcare Podcast

Excellent programming.  This was my first time attending, and I will be a regular listener. Topics are relevant and timely.

— Margot Ozyp, Vice President, Contract Operations and Performance, Equality Health

I learn something practical every time I tune in!

— Heather Peterman, Director of Healthcare Research and Quality, Minnesota Department of Health Services

These webinars are very helpful and relevant.  They are easy to listen to and have a great variety of topics, speakers and information.  The pace is really engaging.

— Michelle Nelson, Senior Director, Health Improvement, United Regional Health Care

Great conversation about real-life problems caring for real-life patients!!!

— Kim Tjanden, Medical Director, Community Health, CentraCare

Enjoy your programming. Always much needed and relevant information.

— Mary Freeman, Director, Baptist Memorial Health Care

The topics were directly aligned with our company’s missions!

— Tracy Fennessy, Senior Relationship Manager, Business Development & Community Health, Point32Health

Who knew there would be a podcast about my actual job? I appreciate hearing how others are navigating the health plan world.

— Hayley Peebles, Lead Care Manager, Network Health

The Bright Spots series is always very well organized. Provides insight and recapping of key points. Happy to never be lectured or read to, but rather a great productive conversation style.

— Marie Wendt, Director of Clinical Quality & Care Management, Great Lakes Physicians Organization, P.C.

Your programming is spot-on for presenting new and innovative ways to improve health outcomes and care to our members.

— Shelley Krawchuk, RN, CPHQ, Clinical Program Manager, Health Net, Inc

I appreciate the well-balanced nature of the presentation. It gave me great ideas that can be easily implemented.

— Eileen Esposito, Vice President, Ambulatory Clinical Practice, Catholic Health

This is a great opportunity to bring together experts and have an open conversation. There are so many questions. One whole session could be on questions about how engaging it is! Thank you!

— Tracey Greene, Vice President, Personalized Health, Aetna National Medicaid

I picked up quite a bit that I had not considered with SDoH digital divide. It was especially interesting to hear from the panelists their thoughts and the programs they have put into place to improve the member experience, as well as barriers with language and culture. Thank You!

— Jesse Stakes, Associate Director, Clinical Quality, United Healthcare

Great information! Very timely and relevant to what is happening in healthcare.

— Laurie Evans, Director, Business Analytics, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee

The session inspired ideas and initiatives to share across my team at Humana on how we can strengthen our service delivery and implement these strategies in the buildout of new lines of business.

— Nicole Bell, Senior Market Development Professional, Humana

My first time connecting with Bright Spots and I am hooked! We are all managing through uncertainty and this group has amazing thinkers in their field, living in this real healthcare world and providing clarity for the future.

— Robert Santilli, CEO, Gunnison Valley Health

Your programming provided a real-world perspective. This approach created relatability; moreover, it will be easy to apply some of the work to enhance the patient experience.

— Leslie Marsh, CEO, Lexington Regional Health Center

Excellent overview of value and importance of video marketing; as a medical director myself, it opened my eyes to various opportunities for our health system to improve.

— Gerard Isenberg, MD, Chief Medical Quality Officer, University Hospital Cleveland Medical Center

A pirate’s bounty of meaty information!

— Julianne Eckert, Director, Quality Improvement, Clover Health

Menu

Subscribe to the Pod
Pre-Register For Webinars

Secure Payment

The Medicare Advantage Leadership Council (MALC) is an invitation-only peer community for senior Medicare Advantage leaders to exchange proven strategies and real-world “bright spots” across STARS, CAHPS, HEDIS, benefit design, risk adjustment, operations, and provider partnerships.

By activating your Medicare Advantage Leadership Council (MALC) membership, you’re choosing to be part of a small, trusted peer community of leaders who believe progress happens through honest conversation, shared learning, and the willingness to challenge what’s comfortable.

If you’re here, you likely already know: doing this work well can’t happen in isolation.

Membership is limited and approved by Bright Spots Ventures.

Activate your 2026 membership

$695/yr.
Pay with Stripe

☐ I acknowledge and agree to the MALC Membership Terms & Conditions.