Deciphering the New Normal (Part 4): Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts’ Chief Strategy Officer, Sukanya Soderland

This is the final episode in a four part series with heads of
strategy at providers and payers from across the healthcare
ecosystem to explore “the new normal” in a post-COVID operating
environment. For this episode Keith Figlioli welcomed Sukanya
Soderland, Chief Strategy Officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of
Massachusetts, to explore how a regional payer is adapting. This
follows previous episodes that offered a diverse perspective from
heads of strategy at:


A regional health system, OhioHealth (Episode 58)

A national health system, CommonSpirit Health (Episode 59)

A national payvider, Humana (Episode 60)



To wrap up this series, Sukanya provides a glimpse into the
strategy at BCBS MA, the largest health plan in Massachusetts and
a mostly commercial-focused payer that serves nearly three
million members across New England. Unlike most not-for-profit
organizations, BCBS MA pays significant federal, state, and local
taxes and assessments. Without soliciting or receiving charitable
donations, or benefiting from tax-exempt financing, BCBS MA stays
competitive by generating a small margin from operations that it
reinvests in its business, people, and technology, and by
remaining deeply focuses on the community its serves.

In her discussion with Keith, Sukanya shared her outlook on
issues including:



Shared empathy between operations and innovation. For
any head of strategy, serving the immediate needs of an
organization is equally as important as anticipating and
planning for future demands and market forces. Sukanya
discussed how business leaders can sometimes view innovation
leaders as out of touch with current realities, while
innovation leaders might view business leaders as “dinosaurs.”
She talked about the importance of developing a culture of
empathy and trust between these groups.


Building vs. buying vs. co-designing. To stay
competitive against larger, national organizations, regional
payers must recognize what they do well and where they should
partner with other like-minded entities to augment their
capabilities. Sukanya talked about making decisions to partner
or co-develop capabilities with others, including sister
companies across the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, as a
way of advancing sustainable, non-profit healthcare. She also
recognized the challenges with driving meaningful change in
affordability, quality and consumer experience without being
intimately involved in care delivery, and discussed creative
ways of partnering with incumbent health systems or new and
innovative care delivery models to make that happen.


Changing dynamics in how people access care. One of the
biggest changes Sukanya sees occurring over the next decade is
the way people access care. She discussed several of the market
factors driving this change from the supply and demand of
primary care physicians, to Generation Z aging into adulthood.
She talked about how healthcare is losing the “quarterback”
function as young adults turn to social media, trusted contacts
and convenience in place of a strong relationship with a
primary provider, and how that impacts strategy.



To hear Keith and Sukanya discuss these topics and more, listen
to this episode of Healthcare is Hard: A Podcast for Insiders.