PlanSeek Intelligent Medicare Solutions Launches Diversity and Color

PlanSeek Intelligent Medicare Solutions announces the launch of its Diversity and Color initiative aimed to help mitigate disparity in the health care space. Through Diversity and Color, PlanSeek aims to identify, train, and support people of diverse backgrounds who would like to become Medicare health insurance agents but may not have the means or knowledge of how to do so. Once licensed, these agents would then work in traditionally underserved neighborhoods. The mission is twofold: to train people how to become successful Medicare health insurance agents and to help underserved communities.

“The reality is that corporate discussions about diversity, equity, and inclusion are often just talk. Sometimes diversity and inclusion becomes a company hot topic for a few months, then it’s forgotten. We decided to create our own initiatives and help underserved communities ourselves,” says Juan-Carlos Durán, PlanSeek CEO. Together with PlanSeek President Steve Garcia, the pair is on a mission to give aspiring health insurance agents the tools they need to become successful.

“Not only do we want to train people to become successful agents in their communities, we also want to go beyond that and help agents reach goals they never thought they could,” Garcia says. “There is an obvious lack of diversity among health care insurance agents in some communities, and we want to help close that gap.” Garcia, a health insurance agent with more than 20 years of experience, sees his mission to empower people as a calling.

PlanSeek has been garnering the attention of various companies in the health care field, a fact that PlanSeek’s principals attribute not only to their entrepreneurial savviness but also to the unusual mix of backgrounds the two have. Duran is a trained scientist and founder of successful companies in health care and other fields. Garcia is a seasoned health care insurance agent with years of experience in customer management and team leadership. “When science combines forces with health insurance, and you mix inquisitiveness, data gathering, analysis, a robust understanding of the Medicare system, and impeccable customer service, you get PlanSeek, an agency created for today’s patients and health care providers,” Duran says.

— Source: PlanSeek, Inc

Troubling Trends in Black Youth Suicide Illuminated in New Podcast Series

“The paramedic busted through the door and I screamed, ‘Please help my baby!’ At that time, with a 10-year-old and I’m saying he died by suicide, I wouldn’t have believed me either,” says Tami Charles, recounting the moments after she found her son Seven Bridges dead from suicide. His death in 2019 came amid an alarming rise of suicide deaths and attempts in Black children. Charles was interviewed for the new podcast series Saving Young Black Lives: Reversing Suicide Trends along with survivor Mike Veny, NFL player Kenny Stills, and several leading mental health researchers and practitioners. It launched September 15, during National Suicide Awareness Month.

Michael A. Lindsey, executive director of the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research, is hosting the series, in partnership with the Central East Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (Central East MHTTC).

“This series covers research, policies, and practices and recommendations to address a growing crisis for the mental health and safety of Black youth,” says Oscar Morgan, project director of Central East MHTTC. “We hope that behavioral health providers will consider incorporating these insights into their clinical practices, and also invite parents, teachers, and members of the general public to take away information that can help save lives.”

“We have seen self-reported suicide attempt rates rising by 73% in Black adolescents between 1991 and 2017,” Lindsey says. “The pandemic has only hastened the urgency to act. We see this as a ring-the-alarm moment and want to make sure the public knows how to recognize the signs that a child or teen needs help and knows what to do about it.”

The series also addresses the mental health pressures faced by youth who experience racism, social media bullying, and violence in their communities. NFL free agent Kenny Stills discusses how the backlash to his social justice activism and taking a knee during the national anthem affected him. “I thought I was mentally tough enough to read all the comments and the Facebook messages and the Twitter mentions … You know just straight racism and bigotry to death threats … I caught a cloud other people call depression and knew I wanted to do something about how I felt and so that’s when I started … working with a therapist.”

Listen to the podcast on mhttcnetwork.org, Anchor, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud.

— Source: New York University McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research