How an eighty-year-old health plan is building the healthcare model of the future by working with Rock Health

A Rock Health partnership snapshot: Blue Shield of California

Since 2015, Blue Shield of California has partnered with Rock Health to gain exposure to digital health and elevate its position as an innovative healthcare company. Blue Shield of California has been building the “Healthcare Model of the Future,” which aims to bring health care into the digital age, tie pay to value, create a patient-centered experience, and improve physicians’ ability to practice. The nonprofit health plan, which serves 4M members, joined forces with Rock Health on its path to becoming a “first mover” in reimagining the consumer experience. Through its partnership with Rock Health, Blue Shield of California has showcased thought leadership, collaborated on research, and gained unparalleled insight into the frontlines of healthcare innovation. Learn more about becoming a Rock Health partner.

We don’t know what we don’t know. Rock Health helped us think strategically and re-educated our internal leadership on current innovation trends.

Moses Ike, Director of Investments and Corporate Development, Blue Shield of California

Guidance & Education
As Blue Shield of California works toward achieving the “Healthcare Model of the Future,” its innovation team has also leveraged Rock Health’s research and expertise to evaluate its strategies around digital health investments and pilots.

While assessing potential startup partners focused on telemedicine and shared decision support, Rock Health performed custom, in-depth market analyses to inform and educate Blue Shield of California’s team on each subsector. Market analyses included insights on the overall market landscape, key differentiators between startups, and emerging companies that Rock Health believed should be on Blue Shield of California’s radar. Armed with these custom analyses and support, Blue Shield was able to more efficiently and effectively identify specific companies as promising pilot candidates.

At a biannual partner-only retreat in 2018, Blue Shield of California heard from a Rock Health portfolio company founder who candidly shared the impact of large payer partnerships on the overall trajectory of his startup. Blue Shield’s leaders surfaced actionable insights from this startup perspective, ultimately leading to a re-evaluation of Blue Shield’s internal pilot process.

Rock Health’s curated community enabled us to benchmark ourselves against competitors and got the word out that we were open for business.

Network & Promotion
During the 2018 JPM Healthcare Conference week, Blue Shield of California CEO Paul Markovich delivered the keynote speech at an invite-only Rock Health event to dozens of leading healthcare executives, entrepreneurs, and journalists. His message, which showcased Blue Shield of California’s initiatives in digital health and innovation for the first time to a broad audience, was highlighted in a national news outlet. This exposure resulted in increased outreach from a number of digital health startups and stakeholders—and solidified Blue Shield of California’s position as a key player in the healthcare innovation community.

Rock Health has facilitated 20+ introductions between its vast network of entrepreneurs, investors, and enterprise leaders and Blue Shield of California. These fruitful conversations have impacted key business decisions related to hiring needs, internal process improvement, and potential investments.

Interested in partnering with Rock Health?

As we look ahead to 2019, we’re excited to continue working with Blue Shield of California—and the rest of our partners—to create a healthcare system we can all love. Learn more about how Rock Health supports industry leaders like Blue Shield of California and how your company can become a partner.