Elam to advise on population health, health equity; reflects Babyscripts’ commitment to diversity & inclusion
Babyscripts, the leading virtual care platform for managing obstetrics, today announced that Linda Elam, Ph.D., M.P.H., Managing Director at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP in Washington, DC, is joining Babyscripts as the company’s first independent board member. In this role, Elam will advise on Babyscripts’ work with managed care organizations and continued expansion into high-risk and Medicaid populations.
Dr. Elam is a public health executive leader with deep expertise in policies and programs that finance and deliver health care to vulnerable populations and that aim to improve population health. Prior to joining Manatt, Linda served as CEO and Plan President of Amerigroup, District of Columbia, Inc., a managed care organization serving the Medicaid population in Washington, D.C.
Previously, Linda served as deputy assistant secretary for planning and evaluation directing the office of Disability, Aging and Long-Term Care Policy at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. In that role, she provided leadership on policies supporting the independence, health, and productivity of elderly individuals, and people with physical and mental disabilities.
At the state level, Linda was senior deputy director and State Medicaid Director at the District of Columbia’s Department of Health Care Finance, where she helped develop and implement programmatic changes related to the Affordable Care Act, including Medicaid expansion, and led the initial work to establish the District’s health benefits exchange.
Prior to her government service, Linda was a principal policy analyst with the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, where she focused on prescription drug policy, Medicaid and access to care, and racial and ethnic disparities in health care.
“Babyscripts’ mission is to transform the maternity journey through technology to directly impact the health and well-being of mothers, but especially those most at risk,” says Juan Pablo Segura, Co-founder and President at Babyscripts. “Dr. Elam’s wealth of experience in health policy and strategy, specifically for the Medicaid community, will be invaluable to our mission of improving population health and increasing access to care for mothers, and reducing health disparities.”
“I have admired the Babyscripts’ vision and progress for several years now,” says Dr. Elam, “ and I am delighted to join the Board and help the company fulfill its mission of improving maternity care and advancing health equity.”
The decision to welcome Dr. Elam to the board marks another step in Babyscripts’ continued dedication to health equity. Delivering care to geographically and economically vulnerable populations is a cornerstone of the company’s mission. Babyscripts has developed and continues to invest in functionalities to address social determinants of health and mental health, including postpartum depression, and problems of substance abuse, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic has widened the pre-existing gaps in maternal health care for the medically underserved. In 2019, Babyscripts created a partnership model between patients, providers, and payers to use Babyscripts Virtual Maternity Care to improve access for these vulnerable populations, and recently was instrumental in the passage of one of the first-ever digital health reimbursement mandates, an addendum to the DC Council’s Postpartum Care Expansion Act.
