Workplace in Focus Podcast Episode 1 Transcript

Banner|Aetna’s ability to quickly adapt amidst the COVID-19 pandemic with Tom Grote, CEO of Banner|Aetna.

ANNOUNCER: You have COVID-19-related workplace questions. Banner|Aetna has the answers. Welcome to Banner|Aetna: Workplace in Focus.

Now here’s your host Banner|Aetna Market Head of Sales, John Dingledine.

DINGLEDINE: Welcome everyone. I’m your host, John Dingledine, Market Head of Sales for Banner|Aetna. I’m proud to introduce you to Banner|Aetna’s podcast series, Workplace in Focus. We know you have a lot of questions around COVID-19 and getting the workforce back in motion. Each week we will deliver guests that will provide you with useful, actionable, practical information. Our first guest is the CEO of Banner|Aetna, Tom Grote. Tom is a 30-plus-year veteran of the insurance industry and has been our CEO for more than three years. Welcome Tom. Thanks for joining us.

GROTE: Thanks John. Glad to be here.

DINGLEDINE: Over the last 2 months, what questions and concerns are you hearing most frequently from Banner|Aetna clients regarding COVID-19?

GROTE: At the onset of COVID-19, we got a lot of questions about how flexible we would be with our members, given the pandemic. We really tried to be highly flexible with our clients, especially in extending access for furloughed employees. We even extended a special open enrollment period for members who had no coverage, so they can get on our plans. We also waived the cost of COVID-19 testing and treatment, so it’s easy access to care. We also provided free EAP for all our members to help them to address both emotional and financial issues that have come up as a result of COVID. We’re also covering free of charge telemedicine visits to allow our clients to get safe access to care. The increase and the availability of virtual care visits through our local providers has been phenomenal. Just in a three week period, we went from about 5% of the local doctors having virtual care capabilities to over 90%. So we have completely transformed that capability in the market in a three week period.

DINGLEDINE: Wow that must be a great way to cost effectively deliver care during this period. What kind of questions are you seeing around, or are asking around the potential cost associated with COVID-19?

GROTE: As weeks went on, we started getting more questions on what is it going to cost us as an employer? And so we worked with our actuaries to develop a tool that could project the cost of the COVID exposure. So it’s a tool that our account managers can use, and put different inputs in there regarding infection rates and testing rates to try to project out what the cost would be for the care of COVID.

DINGLEDINE: Well speaking of testing, where can they get tested?

GROTE: Right now a lot of the focus is on testing, and I would say we're incredibly proud that our two parent organizations, CVS and Banner Health, have taken a real leadership role in providing testing here to people in Arizona. Right now through CVS, our members currently have access to 35 drive up testing sites here in Arizona. There is 26 of them in Maricopa, and 9 additional sites in Pima county. And if a member wants a test, they just need to be pre-screened to make an appointment for the test. They can do that at CVS.com, or they can phone their local CVS Pharmacy. Once they are at the pharmacy, the patients can stay in their cars. We direct it through the drive-thru window, at which time you will be provided a test kit with instructions. And a CVS pharmacy team member will observe the self-swab process to ensure it's done properly. And tests are sent to an independent third-party lab for processing. And the results are approximately available in three days. So were giving real, convenient access to people in Arizona for testing purposes.

DINGLEDINE: Yeah, that’s terrific. How about Banner Health, what is their role in getting tested?

GROTE: From the beginning, Banner Health has also been a leader when it comes to testing for our members. Early on Banner partnered with Sonora Quest to set up testing tents statewide. That allowed them to preserve PPE while testing a large number of people. Initial focus was on testing health care workers and first responders. And later, it expanded to testing people who believed they were exposed to COVID-19. Throughout the weeks in May, Banner helped support the mass testing events that were held here in Arizona. Those events were for people who displayed symptoms of COVID-19, or who believed they had been exposed. Currently plan members who have been exposed by COVID-19, or believe they are at risk can get a test through Banner in Phoenix by calling 1-844-549-1851 to make an appointment.

DINGLEDINE: Okay. Great. Thank You! Shifting gears just a little bit to Banner|Aetna as an employer. What types of changes is Banner|Aetna putting on to protect the safety and health of our employees as they re-enter the workplace?

GROTE: We have been working hard to create a consistent, company-wide strategy that focuses at all times on the safety and health of our people. That’s really the paramount concern: bringing back people safely, and minimizing possible exposure to COVID-19. We also want to make sure people are comfortable coming back into the workplace. So we are evaluating our people to determine who should be coming back in the office, who is okay continuing work at home, who has great exposure and shouldn’t be coming in. We are trying to evaluate that, so we can build out a strategy that provides a comfortable environment and enough access and space for a return to work.

DINGLEDINE: For those folks that do come back to the office, what specific safeguards and protocols is Banner|Aetna putting in place?

GROTE: Once we have determined who is coming back into the office, we have created a set of protocols and safeguards for people that follows federal, state, and local guidelines. And we have been very careful to communicate this to our people, both through signage and by creating a playbook that lays out our ground rules. First off, masks are a must from our perspective. Employees and guests in our office are required to wear masks, as laid down by the CDC. The only time a mask is optional, is if someone is in their specific workspace. Either in an office or a cubicle. Otherwise they should be wearing masks in the office, and CVS is providing masks to all the people in our building. Were also having workers complete a symptom checker screening prior to starting their workday to detect any potential signs of illness. One of the big steps we are taking is adding temperature checks, which are going to be required before entering the Banner|Aetna office. We’re using a contactless thermal cameras and thermal thermometers to do this. And anyone with a temperature over 100 degrees will not be allowed to enter the building. And one of the things we are doing to that and in order to not get backlogs is we are going to stagger start times for our employees to make it a smooth return to work. We’ve also enhanced our workspace cleaning protocols to make sure we’re constantly putting them in a very safe environment. And right now, our meeting and collaboration rooms have been closed till we feel more comfortable that we’re further down the road. And at the site level we have created guidelines for social distancing standards around the common workplaces, the cafeterias, and workstations as well. One of the things we have done is to really cancel all travel, business-related travel for the rest of this year. So that’s a pretty drastic step, but we want to make sure our employees are staying as healthy as possible and as safe as possible.

DINGLEDINE: There certainly is a lot to think about, and a lot of considerations. Tom, what’s one piece of advice you might give to a business owner who has a workforce coming back to work?

GROTE: I think it’s important at this stage in people returning to work that we do our best to take great care as it comes to their health, safety, and minimizing potential exposure. And make sure we’re overcommunicating to our team members. Today we are starting to open up back Arizona, and I think it’s important that we don’t get complacent and that we don’t get a false sense of security. The last thing any of us want is for this to turn up to a second wave and lockdown that could be much longer and much more detrimental to the community and the economy here in Arizona. That’s why it is so important that we do this the right way, and communicate it up and down our organizations. If we keep the health and safety of our employees at the forefront of the decision making. And if we communicate our priorities and guidelines clearly it helps keep everyone safe, and it helps to preserve our business and the economy here in Arizona. From our perspective, it’s stay safe Arizona.

DINGLEDINE: Right. Tom thank you so much for joining us today. We really appreciate the insights, and we appreciate you being here.

GROTE: Absolutely.

DIGNLEDINE: Thank you everyone for joining us on this inaugural episode of Banner|Aetna: Workplace in Focus. We stand ready to help you get back to work, when you're ready and the time is safe. Join us next week and we’ll have Chuck Lehn, President of Banner Health Network, for his insights.

ANNOUNCER; You have been listening to Banner|Aetna: Workplace in Focus. Learn more at BannerAetna.com.