Mental Health Guiding Coalition Momentum Continues to Build

November 5, 2019​

Mental Health Guiding Coalition Momentum Continues to Build
A unique opportunity to drive mental health care improvement in Minnesota

The 20 Minnesota organizations, along with national expert
advisors, who comprise the 2019 Mental Health Guiding
Coalition (MHGC) hit many milestones in 2019.

"I couldn't be more pleased with the work of the 2019 MHGC,"
says Nance Lee Mosquera, employee benefits manager, City
of Saint Paul and Action Group Board member. "We have
significant momentum, so let's use it!"

MHGC members held regular action-oriented meetings; rolled
out employer tools and resources; identified gaps and multi-
stakeholder collaboration opportunities; conducted and
published eValue8 Mental Health Deep Dive results; engaged      Click on the image above
with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Minnesota   to view the 2020 Action
to support successful new parity legislation; co-hosted         Group Mental Health
Collaborative Care code training for Minnesota providers; and   Guiding Coalition invitation
attended and presented at various events nationwide to          to participate (open to
inform and inspire others. Capping off the work was the         member and non-member
$200,000 Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Award               organizations).
from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
(PCORI) to improve quality and access to mental health care     To view the new and
for people across Minnesota.                                    improved library of Action
                                                                Group mental health tools
With new and existing members now being invited to join the     and resources, click here.
MHGC for 2020, the important work of improving mental
health care and outcomes in our state will continue.

         NATIONAL ACADEM Y OF M EDICINE ARTICLE: Empowering 8 Billion
         Minds: Enabling Better Mental Health for All via the Ethical Adoption of
         Technologies
         CENTER FOR WORKPLACE M ENTAL HEALTH PODCAST: Mental Health
         Works - New
         ACTION GROUP BLOG: Inquiring Minds Might Want to Know: The eValue8
         Mental Health Minnesota Back Story

Time for Members to Register for Fun and Informative Meeting!

The December member meeting is always one of
the most fun and interesting of the year.

Please join us as we look back on our work and
accomplishments over the past year, and hear more
about how The Action Group’s themes for the future
and vision and mission will guide our work in tackling
shared employer challenges in 2020. We will also
welcome our new president and CEO!

There will be a delicious hot breakfast to thank our
members for their passion and engagement. HR and
benefits professionals who are actively considering
membership are also welcome!

WHEN: December 6, 2019

TIM E: 8 a.m.-10 a.m. (Breakfast and networking
from 8-8:30; presentation and discussion from 8:30-
10)

WHERE: Hilton Airport/MOA

Call for Employer Leadership Summit Sponsors!

The 2020 Action Group Annual
Employer Leadership Summit,
dedicated to the topic of improving
workplace mental health, will take
place on April 29, 2020, from 8 a.m.-4
p.m. at the Westin Edina Galleria.

Sponsorships at each level are limited
and commitments are due by
December 18, 2019.

"We work hard every year to make this a national-caliber event," says Deb Krause,
Action Group vice president. "It's a collaborative gathering with innovative and engaging
content that offers sponsors unique and valuable brand exposure with key health care
and benefits decision makers."

To learn more, view the Summit sponsor request here and the sponsorship levels here.

Best Buy Named NAMI Minnesota Employer of the
Year

NAMI Minnesota (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
presented Best Buy with its Employer of the Year Award on
November 2, 2019.

This award recognizes an employer that has demonstrated            (l to r) Liz Beckius, Charlie
support for hiring and recruiting people with mental illnesses,    Montreuil, and Deidre
taken extraordinary measures to educate employees about            Serum accept the NAMI
mental illnesses, and works to create a supportive place for       Minnesota Employer of the
employees who have a family member living with a mental            Year Award on behalf of
illness.                                                           Best Buy

"We have been impressed by the steps Best Buy has taken to
create a workplace that promotes good mental health and
encourages its employees to seek help when needed," says
Sue Abderholden, executive director of NAMI Minnesota. "This
is an award that is truly deserved!"

Best Buy is an active participant in many Action Group
programs and initiatives, including the Mental Health Guiding
Coalition.

         Congratulations from your friends at
                 The Action Group!

Add This Book to Your Holiday Wish List!

Action Group members are encouraged to read the highly
regarded book, Priced Out: The Economic and Ethical Costs
of American Health Care. Recently published, there is
widespread praise for this final book from Dr. Uwe Reinhart, a
giant in health care policy. The February member meeting will
feature this book in a lively roundtable discussion.

"In my forty-plus years of engagement with health care policy,
I never encountered a mind more incisive or a character more       A drawing will be held at
compelling than Uwe Reinhardt's," says Donald M. Berwick,          the December 6, 2019,
M.D., president emeritus and senior fellow, Institute for
                                                                   member meeting and five
Healthcare Improvement and former administrator of the
                                                                   lucky Action Group
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. "With his clear        members will win a copy of
voice, piercing intellect, hilarious wit, and unshakable ethics,
                                                                   the book! (Must b e present
he simply had no peer."                                            to win.)

Other books on The Action Group's list of recommendations:

      An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big
      Business and How You Can Take it Back by
      Elizabeth Rostenthal
      The Crusade for Forgotten Souls: Reforming
      Minnesota's Mental Institutions, 1946-1954 by Susan
      Bartlett Foote

National Alliance Publications Feature Employer High-Interest Topics

In the ever-changing health care
environment, purchasers and coalitions can
no longer afford to conduct business as
usual. They are repositioning and
empowering themselves and uniting to
change the market. The National Alliance is
advancing a thoughtful, collective agenda to
help guide members and purchasers down
a path that leverages best practices and
identifies new opportunities aimed at

reducing costs, eliminating inappropriate
care, and improving health outcomes.

One way they do this is through publications
that educate and offer concrete action
steps. Here are some of the latest
resources:

      Clinical Brief: Medicinal Uses of
      Cannabis-Derived Products
      Action Brief: Obesity: Confronting a
      Misunderstood and Under-managed
      Workforce Disease
      Report: Achieving Value in Cancer
      Care: Striving for Patient-Centered
      Care

It's Diabetes Month! How Can Employers Help?

As a long-time advocate for stopping
diabetes in it's tracks, The Action Group
promotes National Diabetes Month each
November. Workplace support can help
employees lower their risk for type 2
diabetes or better manage diabetes if they
have it.

One in three U.S. adults has prediabetes
and 90% don't know it. This simple
prediabetes risk test helps raise awareness
and employees can share the findings with
their doctors.

​Prediabetes often leads to type 2 diabetes and raises the risk for heart disease and
 stroke. Diabetes takes a high toll medically and financially. Total medical costs and lost
 work and wages for people with diagnosed diabetes was $327 billion in 2017, according
 to the American Diabetes Association.

The National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) is a partnership of public and
private organizations working to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. Partners make it
easier for people at risk for type 2 diabetes to participate in evidence-based lifestyle
change programs. Many Minnesota employers have access to the National DPP through
their health plans. Check with your broker, agent or consultant to learn more.

HR and benefits professionals are encouraged to participate
in Action Group meetings and events. If you are not yet a
member and would like to join us at member meeting, contact
Sue Jesseman (sjesseman@mnhealthactiongroup.org) for a
complimentary meeting pass.

Action Group M ember M eetings:

      December 6, 2019: Year in Review; New Year Preview
      February 27, 2020: Book Club: Priced Out: The
      Economic and Ethical Costs of American Health Care

Each meeting begins with networking at 8 a.m. and concludes
at 10 a.m. They are held at the Hilton Airport/MOA.

Public M eetings and Events:

      November 11-13, 2019: National Alliance of
      Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions Annual Forum
      April 29, 2020 (8 a.m.-4 p.m.): Minnesota Health
      Action Group Annual Employer Leadership Summit

“...Our financing of health care is really a moral morass. It is a
moral morass in the sense that it signals to the doctors and
hospitals that human beings have different values depending on
their income status.”
               Uwe E. Reinhardt, Ph.D., Scientist, Researcher, Author