Barsam Kasravi, MD, MPH

2004-2005

California Endowment Scholar in Health Policy

President and CEO, Anthem Blue Cross CA Medicaid, Thousand Oaks, CA

Barsam Kasravi, M.D., M.P.H. is a medial director in the area of Clinical Quality and Innovation at Blue Cross of California. Prior to his current position, Barsam was a family physician at the Martha Eliot Health Center, Clinical Instructor at Harvard Medical School, and a full time Associate Medical Director at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. Dr. Kasravi is interested in areas of minority health policy and reducing health disparities based on race and ethnicity. He has conducted research on New England Philanthropy and how they address racial and ethnic disparities in their grantmaking. He has also worked with the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation in their recent grant initiative to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities in Massachusetts.

He graduated from the UCLA School of Medicine, where he was chief of the Los Angeles/Salvation Army Homeless Clinic. He completed his residency as Chief Resident at the UCLA/Kaiser Woodland Hills Family Medicine Program. He has also volunteered nationally and internationally in South Africa, South America, and in Louisiana with the disaster of Katrina, providing medical care to underserved populations. He has worked with the Massachusetts Commission to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Health Care Disparities in drafting their final recommendations and specifically with the Health Care Service Delivery sub-committee.

Dr. Kasravi recently received the AMA Foundation Leadership Award and the Family Medicine Educational Consortium’s Emerging Leaders Award. He continues to work with various state and national organizations in addressing issues of minority health. Dr. Kasravi received his medical degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2001. As Chief Resident, he completed his residency in Family Practice at UCLA-Kaiser Woodland Hills, in Woodland Hills, CA in 2004. He received a Master's in Public Health from Harvard School Public Health in 2005 as a California Endowment Scholar.


Learn more about the California Endowment Scholars in Health Policy at Harvard University

 

Strategic Grantmaking in Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care: A Study of New England Philanthropy

Background:

Racial and ethnic disparities in health care have become a priority for many communities since the release of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report: “Unequal Treatment” released in 2002. One source of intervention is philanthropy and its potential funding support for programs and initiatives. Foundations play an integral role in addressing health issues in the community. In 2003, foundations gave over $800 million towards health related issues in the Northeast. Very little has been written regarding strategies used by foundations towards funding in this area of health care.

A survey of leadership in 21 philanthropic organizations in New England was conducted to look at how they approach the issue of racial and ethnic disparities in health care. The results of the survey were then applied to a case at the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation’s grant initiative in reducing racial and ethnic disparities in health care in the state of Massachusetts.

The goals of this study are:

To look at the influences and strategies for foundations in the Northeast towards funding programs in racial and ethnic disparities in health care,
To apply common themes to a specific grant initiative at the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation regarding reducing racial and ethnic disparities in Massachusetts, and
To recommend certain learned principles to other community foundations in New England and across the country
Methods:

A structured review of literature was conducted to look at past research on racial and ethnic disparities in health care and potential interventions. Key informant interviews were conducted with leaders of national foundations and government agencies regarding possible strategies used for intervention. A phone and e-mail survey was conducted with the leadership of 21 foundations in the New England states. The process of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation’s initiative was observed and recommendations were made for its grantmaking strategies from results of the analysis described.

Findings:

A foundation model was created to organize the interaction of foundations with the community. The model contains four components:

I. The foundation
II. The racial and ethnic disparities in the community
III. The modes of intervention
IV. The methods of evaluation and feedback.

(I) With regards to the foundation, the important contributors for development of such programs included: the foundation’s mission or values, public health data, and the community approaching the foundation. When asked about strategies of where to intervene, the foundations listed their mission as the most common factor. Over 75% of the foundations that had a program focused on racial and ethnic disparities in health care had minorities on their boards. Of all the foundations surveyed, 63% were involved in formal collaborations and 45% in formal communication with other foundations or local organizations.
(II) Needs assessment was mainly from direct communication from the community, use of public health data, and the use of policy papers.
(III) Foundations felt their funding was focused on data collection, cultural competence, and leadership development.
(IV) The majority of evaluations were self-evaluated and used process measures versus outcome measures.

These principles were used in the process of developing the guidelines of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation’s grant initiative on reducing racial and ethnic disparities in health care in Massachusetts.
Recommendations:

Formal communication and collaboration within foundations and with the public health community
Evidence-based strategies in intervention
Evaluation process looking at process and outcomes of programs
Look for opportunities of synergy when addressing this issue in a community.
Preceptors:

Andrew Dreyfus and Celeste Lee
The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation