Employers Need a Voice in Shaping Cancer Care: Rosa Novo

Employers need a voice at the table with health systems, hospitals, and carriers in shaping cancer care, according to Rosa Novo, executive benefits director at Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS).

In the second part of her interview with The American Journal of Managed Care^® at the Community Oncology Alliance Payer Exchange & Innovation Summit, Novo described how the district is working to close gaps in cancer screening and what she sees as the future of employer involvement in cancer care.

Access to providers was already a challenge before the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, but the gap widened afterward as practices closed and providers aligned with health systems, resulting in some employees being in areas of the district she described as “health care desert storms.” To reach these employees, MDCPS must sometimes go to them. For example, the district partners with mobile mammography units that bring breast cancer screening directly to employees. MDCPS also runs an educational campaign through email and home mailers promoting Cologuard and other preventive services.

The district has seen an increase in screening, with rates reaching 78% for breast cancer and 64% for cervical cancer. However, colorectal cancer screening remains a challenge, Novo noted, because many individuals find it difficult to go in for a colonoscopy. As a result, the district is looking at other types of testing, such as blood-based tests, she said.

Novo emphasized the importance of understanding the specific care each individual receives and the quality of that care, rather than looking at data alone. Looking ahead, she said she sees a future in which employers are more involved in the conversation. Novo also said she hopes someone will support a policy discussion that encourages employers to treat preventive and diagnostic services equally under standard coverage.

In addition, employers should ask for data, she said, but should also understand what they need and how to use it. Novo emphasized the importance of remembering that it is not only about cost containment, as health care involves people’s lives.

"I think employers need to have a voice at the table with the health systems, with the hospitals, and the carriers, because at the end, we are the ones responsible for our employees' well-being, and we are the fiduciary responsible party for the dollars that we use that are taxpayers' dollars," she concluded.