Summer Newsletter:
Note from Mike

Hello, Everyone.

Each quarter, I try to send out one of these CEO letters. Not only do I think it’s important for me to really break down my thoughts and excitement about current trends and opportunities, but I get a chance to shed the business layer and sit down as a person.

How can andros help rethink the way we all approach network adequacy? Why are we focused on getting payors to find more value in our platform? Is there a reason I’m excited about eating lukewarm pizza in dusty hotel rooms? And why is New York so happy despite the earth-scorching heat?

So, person-to-person, here’s what’s happening at andros lately. 

We want to balance health equity at the individual level with our already-robust value pillars for payors.

Taking Network Adequacy to the Next Level

The term network “adequacy” has been top-of-mind for us this year. We all know that network adequacy standards for Medicaid Managed Care Organizations are important. They exist to empower members, dismantle healthcare barriers, and provide critical access to care for patients who deeply depend on the government for their healthcare needs.

But we can all do better.

We’re actually releasing an interesting whitepaper on adequacy here in the next month (I’ll email everyone when it goes live).

But, for now, we want to let you all know that we’re focused on these opportunities. The goal of andros has always been multifocal. We’re not just trying to broadly minimize pain points for payors and members. But our DNA is deeply rooted in using the power of our platform to drive benefits down to the level of the individual. Not only do we have the technology to do that at scale, but our development cycles and R&D iterations are hyper-focused on this larger theme of health equity.

So, expect to see more about adequacy over the next year. From platform updates to messaging, this is a central theme for andros. We want to balance health equity at the individual level with our already-robust value pillars for payors. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. andros is focused on giving wins to everyone.

Our DNA is rooted in building better healthcare for everyone. 

The Good, the Bad, and the Networks

Money is tight. As a company, the economic downturn isn’t necessarily threatening to us. Our platform is value-generating, so we find that smaller wallets often lead to higher adoption of our platform. It’s the final push some payors need.

But what about the average person? This is where things get complicated for us. We see amazing growth from the platform. But the average person is facing overwhelming challenges associated with health equity. It’s not a good feeling.

As I stated, our DNA is rooted in building better healthcare for everyone. So, despite the growth, our core mission is now more challenging. How do we help people in this new, potentially long-lasting, economic downturn access quality care? How do we balance this with ensuring that payors are profitable enough to consider tackling these challenges? And how can we balance our growth with our larger overall mission?

I don’t have all the answers.

We’ve leaned heavily into finding ways to use andros to bridge healthcare gaps. Technically, andros is already well-positioned as a leader in this space. But we really need to focus on finding ways to use our technology to empower the every-person. That’s, by far, our biggest goal for this quarter, next quarter, and well… every quarter.

For payors on our platform, we highly suggest leaning into andros’s capabilities. We have customers with near-national footprints that are able to manage their entire credentialing function with a single person, simply due to our platform’s innate capabilities.

andros does, by nature, cut costs and improve outcomes. In fact, we’re less worried about our messaging on this end. Not only do we think andros speaks for itself in this regard (the benefits come quickly), but simply finding value isn’t the biggest barrier we see on the payor end. We have many payors that are using us, but they aren’t fully exploiting the platform. So, they’re seeing cost savings, but not at the scale they could. That’s also front-of-mind for us this quarter. How do we help our existing customers really leverage andros in a way that squeezes every last drop of value from the platform?

We have some magic in the works. We’ll keep you updated.

Spending time discussing critical, controversial, and sometimes-awkward healthcare questions with peers is beyond refreshing.

Talking to People About What Matters Most

I’m finally starting to go back to in-person conferences somewhat regularly. And it’s awesome. While late-night pizza in a poorly-carpeted hotel room doesn’t necessarily sound fun, spending time discussing critical, controversial, and sometimes-awkward healthcare questions with peers is beyond refreshing. Plus, you get to sit down with people you’ve only met via the internet or through phone calls. It makes every conversation a little more real and a little more impactful.

My life is centered around healthcare access, networking, and all of these complex, downstream healthcare ecosystems. Frankly, I haven’t gotten enough time to really talk about these things on a deep level in a community capacity over the past two years.

As an example, I recently attended AHIP’s annual conference in Las Vegas. People there were discussing extremely important topics like race and healthcare outcomes, social vulnerability, and health equity in the context of provider networks and access. These are bold, complex conversations. 

Getting to open up with people who also make this their life is huge for me. Lots of us are getting exposed to some of the bigger-picture issues. I’m extremely excited that the industry is going in a direction that’s willing to explore, discuss, and solve some of these complicated problems that have plagued us for (quite literally) centuries.

Are you attending any interesting conferences this year? Shoot me an email! I’m always looking to meet new people and explore new topics in healthcare.

I’m so work-focused that spending quality time with myself is rarely top-of-mind. It’s something we could probably all do better.

Skydiving, Racing, Illusive Artists

I always try to uncover some truths about myself in these CEO letters. Software companies aren’t just technology; they’re powered by beautiful, wonderful people. And this person has been busy.

After putting it off for years (there’s a deeper reason here I’m sure), I’ve finally started skydiving classes. I love it! I get to learn from these awesome people who have been doing this for years. Coming in as a total novice at something isn’t always easy. I may be a CEO at andros, but at these lessons, I’m  a grown man frozen by adrenaline next to a master skydiving instructor that’s gently telling me to just “jump.” The CEO skin sheds fast. Here, I’m just another person trying to figure it out.

I’ve also been watching some Tour de France (I’m a huge Peter Sagan fan). And, of course, riding my bike around the hot brick streets of New York. It’s been a very freeing summer in New York. Despite the face-melting heat, the restriction-free nature of this summer has brought fresh new life into the city.

This new life has led to some pretty amazing events happening. I recently visited a Banksy art show with some family that flew in from London. And I’ve been relishing the sun-ripened vegetables in my garden — which had a fantastic season.

All-in-all, it’s been a great summer. And I sincerely hope that all of you had a wonderful time, despite the heat. It’s important to take “you” time. I’m sometimes so work-focused that spending quality time with myself is rarely top-of-mind. But it’s something we could all probably do better at.

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