Millennial health a concern for insurer

(AlexLipa / Depositphotos.com)

By Tim Curtis
TCurtis@TheDailyRecord.com

Millennials are seeing their health decline earlier than members of Generation X and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield wants to know why – and to figure out how to address it before health care costs increase for workplaces and insurers.

A report on millennial health released earlier this year by the national Blue Cross Blue Shield Association found that millennials, on average, are seeing their health start to decline at age 27 rather than at 35, the age at which Blue Cross Blue Shield has expected health problems to begin.

CareFirst discussed the report Wednesday at a workshop in Owings Mills.

Among other findings, the report noted that older millennials were 11% more likely to have adverse health conditions than were Gen Xers at the same age.

“The easy anecdote is young people are healthy and old people are not,” Arif Khan, vice president for clinical programs and evaluation at CareFirst, said in an interview.  “I think what this is telling us is that at the surface level while that might be true… the reality is when you look at the underlying data for their health ... the millennials today are worse off in virtually all of those categories.”

The categories include higher rates of major depression, substance use disorder, hypertension, hyperactivity, inflammatory bowel disease, high cholesterol, tobacco use disorder and Type II diabetes.

The report comes from Blue Cross Blue Shield’s Health of America annual report, which looks at the association’s claims database to find health care trends among policyholders.

Among the findings: Millennials are not visiting their primary care physician at the same frequency as previous generations. Just 68% of millennials surveyed have a primary care physician.

“It isn’t that they are not going to access services, they are just accessing them in different ways,” said Brian Harvey, executive director of strategic services for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. He said that many millennials use urgent care, walk-in clinics and emergency rooms instead of primary care – which makes it difficult to track health care use.

Now that millennials are the largest generation in the workforce, employers and insurers need to pay attention to their health and to their potential health care costs.

Millennials may have lower health care costs now, but since they are developing health issues at higher rates than previous generations did, their future health care costs could be significantly greater down the line.

Executives at CareFirst said more needs to be done to meet millennials where they are. That includes learning about how millennials want to access their health care.

“You want to engage them early,” Khan said. “If you don’t create that connectivity early, it’s hard to keep them connected to their care.”

But that can be a challenge, he said. “Nobody wakes up in the morning and says, ‘I can’t wait to connect with my health care today.’”

CareFirst’s Healthworx team works with digital health startups, which, the company believes, may be better able to respond to the concerns of millennials.

“They are seeing these challenges of health care and actively developing solutions to change it,” said Michael Batista, CareFirst’s Innovation Partnerships director.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association also has been trying to figure out what’s behind the disparity in health trends between millennials and previous generations -- and what can be done to remedy the situation. The association plans a national event in Philadelphia in November to focus on millennial health.

“We don’t have the solution to it, but we are in the process of trying to understand what the issues are and the challenges,” Harvey said.

Khan said workplaces should consider how they can help their millennial employees better access health care.

He suggests programs that address employees’ health, such as wellness initiatives or gym memberships, lead workers to take charge of their health.

“When an employer actually advocates for, promotes, markets and even creates monetary incentives to do these things, that is when you see 80, 90% hit rates,” he said.

Bricata teams up with Atlantic Data Forensics

A Maryland cybersecurity company is partnering with a Maryland provider of digital forensics and incident response services.

Columbia -based Bricata Inc. announced a strategic partnership with Elkridge-based Atlantic Data Forensics.

In the partnership, Atlantic Data Forensics will use Bricata's tools to respond to cybersecurity problems and recommend those tools to its clients.

Atlantic Data Forensics CEO Brian Dykstra said in a statement that Bricata's tools let them quickly have complete visibility into what's happening on a network when they respond to a client's incident.
Bricata CEO John Trauth said the partnership is an example of the thriving ecosystem of cybersecurity investment, innovation, research and talent in Maryland and Howard County.

— Daily Record Staff

Philanthropist Bunting donates $500,000 to UM School of Nursing

Philanthropist and alumna Mary Catherine Bunting donated $500,000 to the the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) to help continue the work of UMSON’s Community and Public Health Environmental Initiative (CPHEI) to provide health oversight for children and families served by Baltimore City Early Head Start and Head Start centers.

Established in early 2016 with a $750,000 gift from Bunting, CPHEI is a collaborative effort with the Maryland Family Network to improve overall health and environmental health for EHS and HS center children from birth until age five through programs that support their mental, social and emotional development. CPHEI delivers health services to seven of eight EHS centers and seven of 47 HS centers; to date these efforts have benefited 2,675 children and their families.

Students and faculty from UMSON’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing and RN-to-BSN programs, entry-into-nursing Clinical Nurse Leader master’s option, Community/Public Health Nursing master’s specialty, and Doctor of Nursing Practice specialties participate in CPHEI as part of the School’s ongoing service learning commitment.

The latest funding will support CPHEI’s continued efforts, which include UMSON students and faculty reviewing more than 1,000 child health records and identifying children with chronic health conditions and those behind on preventative care required under Maryland’s Medicaid program. They have also provided direct care services — including health screenings, hearing and vision screenings, and blood pressure and body mass index checks — and home visits for children with chronic conditions such as asthma and for pregnant women and new mothers. They have offered 113 educational classes to parents, more than 60 classes to Early Head Start and Head Start staff, and 24 prenatal classes for members of the community. In addition, they have taught parents and staff how to access children’s patient portals to obtain health records.

Funding will also support CPHEI’s efforts to continue enabling Early Head Start and Head Start centers to become Eco-Healthy Child Care certified. Since 2016, with the help of CPHEI, all eight Early Head Start and Head Start centers have become Eco-Healthy Child Care certified by eliminating environmental health hazards in or around the facilities and pursuing free or low-cost environmentally healthy best practices.

Over the next five years, CPHEI looks forward to helping all 47 of Baltimore’s HS centers become Eco-Healthy Child Care certified and to continuing its work of providing nursing services in Early Head Start and Head Start centers. The initiative plans to engage in more special projects, such as the community garden at Waverly High School and to advocate for children’s health at the legislative level. CPHEI will also continue to disseminate its work to other professionals at state and national conferences and to form partnerships with organizations that support children’s environmental health.

— Daily Record staff

Terra Firma, Hudson Resources form partnership

Baltimore-based Terra Firma entered into a long-term relationship with Hudson Resources to market the company’s GreenSpar product line across all of its geographical coverage, company officials announced Wednesday.

GreenSpar is a form of the mineral Anorthosite (aluminosilicate), a rare compositional variety of plagioclase feldspar. It is unique in that it is very dense and has a high refractive index. It can be used as a premium mineral extender for interior paints requiring very good abrasion resistance and can also result in a stronger finish and cost savings as a resin filler in clear coatings.

Regarding thermoplastic end uses, GreenSpar offers high hardness, closed angular structure for low binder demand, and low Refractive Index.

In addition to GreenSpar, the Hudson deposit at White Mountain in Greenland can be exploited to yield high-purity alumina and Anocrete, a CO2-free heat resistant form of concrete. The company was recently asked by space agencies to provide samples of its anorthosite for the purpose of simulating the lunar landscape, which has a geology similar to the one being mined by Hudson. The uniqueness of this mineral deposit has also resulted in a recent visit to the mine by the US State Department as part of their assessment of strategic minerals, including the company’s Sarfartoq rare earth project.

Terra Firma is a privately-held, multi-regional specialty chemical distributor whose primary focus is the CASE, construction and plastic markets along with several other complimentary markets. The company operates three full-service regional customer service centers supporting the efforts of 25+ individuals dedicated to sales. Its aim is to be best-in-class amongst technically focused distributors. Terra Firma’s sole mission is the careful shepherding of the amazing brands we represent. “Nothing Compares to Solid Ground.”

Hudson, through Hudson Greenland A/S, owns 100% of the White Mountain Anorthosite mine in Greenland. The calcium feldspar mine is in operation and permitted for 50 years.

— Daily Record staff

GBC to host Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Summit

The Greater Baltimore Committee announced Wednesday it will conduct the inaugural Bridging the Gap Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Summit this fall, featuring nationally recognized expert Steve Robbins, who has assisted major corporations in addressing such issues in the workplace.

The Oct. 21 event at the SMC Campus Center at the University of Maryland, Baltimore will bring together majority-, minority- and women-owned businesses and civic organizations to discuss effective strategies to help businesses, institutions and other organizations initiate or accelerate efforts to be more diverse, equitable and inclusive in the workplace.

Robbins, the event’s keynote speaker, is the founder and owner of S.L. Robbins and Associates, a consulting firm on human behavior issues and the author of the book “What If? Short Stories to Spark Diversity Dialogue.”

Robbins’ speech for the event is titled “Your Brain is Good at Inclusion … Except when It’s Not.” His presentation will be followed by two concurrent workshops and a networking reception.

— Daily Record staff

Survey: only Detroit’s housing market is worse than Baltimore’s

By Adam Bednar
ABednar@TheDailyRecord.com

Baltimore's residential housing market ranked among the worst in the nation amid rising prices in the surrounding areas, according to a recent survey.

On Tuesday financial advice website WalletHub released its rankings of the best real estate markets in the nation. Baltimore, based on economic, demographic and real estate data, ranked as one of the worst in the nation.

Despite some recent evidence of improvement in Baltimore’s residential housing market, a new survey concludes that it’s almost the worst among major U.S. cities. (The Daily Record File)

Baltimore placed No. 293 out of 300 markets Wallethub researchers analyzed. Charm City's residential real estate market outperformed only Detroit among cities with populations of at least 300,000 people.

The city fared the worst in categories such as the number of properties with negative equity; foreclosure rate; population growth; and number of unsold homes owned by banks.

The struggles come after roughly a decade of economic expansion and a corresponding boost to the Baltimore metro area's real estate market. In recent years the median home sale price in the region, because of supply constraint, has increased from $250,000 in July of 2010 to $299,900 last month, according to data from MarketStats by ShowingTime, based on listings with Bright MLS.

That's in line with the median price in June, which was the highest price reached in that month in the last decade. It also continues a run stretching back to 2014 of year-over-year median price increases. 
Baltimore's housing market faces a host of challenges, from its well-documented struggles with violent crime to a ransomware attack that halted sales. But despite all the obstacles the city's real estate market   had shown signs of a turnaround. 

The city's median home price hit $175,260 in July. That represents a nearly 10% increase from July of 2018. For the year the median home price in Baltimore is nearly 8% higher than the year before.   
Last month Chris Finnegan, vice president of marketing and communications for Bright MLS, touted the city as an affordable alternative for people looking to purchase a home in the Baltimore metro area.

“Despite some recent negative coverage about Baltimore, the city experienced the greatest increases throughout the metro area in both median sale price and median list price year-over-year,” Finnegan said in a statement. “Even with these increases, housing in Baltimore City is still the most affordable in the region, making it attractive to first-time homebuyers who can take advantage of low unemployment and low interest rates.”

The city's real estate market is not alone in facing headwinds. Concerns linger, fueled by sluggish stock market performance, that the national economy is headed for a recession.

At the same time, Baltimore’s real estate market, despite recent high median prices, still hasn't fully recovered from the 2008 recession.

Homes in the Baltimore metro area are still worth less than they were before the 2008 economic collapse. The National Association of Retailers in July 2007 placed the median home price in the Baltimore metro area at  roughly $278,000, which after adjusting for cumulative inflation is equivalent to more than $344,000. 

WORST HOUSING MARKETS AMONG LARGE CITIES

53. Long Beach, California

54. Albuquerque, New Mexico

55. New Orleans, Louisiana

56. New York City

57. Tulsa, Oklahoma

58. St. Louis, Missouri

59. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

60. Miami, Florida

61. Chicago, Illinois

62. Cleveland, Ohio

63. Baltimore

64. Detroit, Michigan

Source: WalletHub

Hopkins accelerator geared to student entrepreneurs

By Tim Curtis
TCurtis@TheDailyRecord.com
Johns Hopkins University will launch a startup accelerator, offering student entrepreneurs a structured approach to turning their ideas into businesses, the university announced Monday.

Kevin Carter, student program manager for FastForward U at Johns Hopkins University. (Submitted photo)

FastForward U -- a wing of Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures and the university’s innovation hub for undergraduate and graduate students -- will help students work through their ideas and launch their businesses while also providing funding at the end of the semester-long program.

“When teams exit this accelerator program they (will) have the knowledge but also the funding to take the next step,” said Kevin Carter, FastForward U’s student program manager.

Carter will run one of the accelerator’s two tracks. His track, called Fuel, will focus on companies that have identified a market for their idea and that are ready to begin finding customers and funding.

Pava LaPere will run the other track, called Spark, which will focus on students who think they have an idea that could be a business but want to find out if there is a market for their product.

LaPere previously founded the student-led TCO Labs incubator at Johns Hopkins, where she directed its accelerator, The Hatchery, which is being absorbed by FastForward U.

“The program is meant to take in a student or a student team who has an idea of the problem they want to solve and a best first guess at a solution to that problem,” she said of the Spark accelerator track. “They know if they do build it there is going to be a customer base.”

Ideally, LaPere says, Spark graduates will move on to the Fuel track. Both tracks conclude with a demo day and the winner of the Spark demo day will be guaranteed entry into the Fuel accelerator.
All Spark teams that finish the program will receive $1,000 toward their venture. The Spark accelerator track will have 10 ventures.

Fuel teams – there will be five -- will also receive funding: $1,000 when they start the program and up to $4,000 upon completion. The winning team will receive $10,000.

In a startup environment, in which Carter estimated 90 percent of ventures fail, developing skills that the student entrepreneurs can use in their current ventures or in future ventures is important.

“Our goal is to pick those students (that fail) up and say, ‘You know the process, you can come up with another one,’” LaPere said. “Our goal in the end is not necessarily to create ventures but to create entrepreneurs.”

The FastForward U leaders hope the accelerator helps students learn skills that will help them be taken seriously.

“I’ve seen the immense talent and dedication and drive that these students have,” Carter said. “They deserve to be taken seriously.”