- 2 days ago
Dr. Margaret-Mary Wilson and Caroline Wanga on the Wealth & Power Stage at Essence Fest 22
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00I'm going to bring back to the stage the CEO of Essence Communications and it's Caroline Wenga.
00:11And let me make one correction on the fly. And the person that she will be having a wonderful
00:21conversation with, the Chief Medical Officer of United Health Group, Dr. Margaret Mary Wilson.
00:27I mean, come on. I know you ate and stuff, but we good out here on these streets? Listen, we all sad. We all sad, bish. So I have the pleasure today of introducing a woman that I admire and is a much better human than myself.
00:52So I'm going to tell you a little bit about who the organization she represents is. But first, I'm going to bring her out. And this woman is a black woman who is the Chief Medical Officer of one of the largest healthcare companies in the world.
01:12So will you join me in welcoming Dr. Margaret Mary Wilson?
01:19So y'all are about to see two sisters with different paths. Talk about paths, because y'all got paths to whatever it is you want to be.
01:38First of all, you have many choices on where in the globe you can be on any given day, because of the change you drive and the work that you do.
01:50And on this particular day, you chose to join us. And it's not just those of us here in the room and our cousins right outside over there.
01:58It's also the ones that are watching the virtual live stream that has had, in past years, 45 million views and 65 million views.
02:06So before I do anything else, sis, I just want to say a heartfelt community thank you for making the time and the many places you could be to come be with us.
02:18I know where your choices sit. I want you to start with one very simple question.
02:28Who is, who is doctor? Because I'm not going to not say your first name. I'm going to say sister doctor, but I'm not going to not say doctor.
02:40Right? So who is doctor Margaret Mary Wilson?
02:50First of all, Carolyn, let me say thank you. Thank you. I would, I can't think of anywhere else I would rather be but here.
03:02Probably like me, I come from a long generation of strong black women. Yeah.
03:10And, um, this is home. Yeah. There's nothing more important. I understand. Who am I? I'm Victoria's daughter. Hmm.
03:21I never let myself forget that. Victoria was my mother. She died two years ago. Condolences.
03:29She was a single mother. Divorced. Became single. My father walked out on her. She couldn't read or write.
03:38Wow. She struggled financially and she was poor after my father left. But the one thing she knew was that she was not going to let me walk her path.
03:51Yeah. And that's who I am at the core. My mother put me through medical school. I got into medical school.
03:58I got into medical school at 16 and I became a doctor in Nigeria. It was a hard life. Doctors weren't paid much. I didn't have a lot of money. I had actually very little money.
04:11But that started my walk. My search for answers. I worked in Nigeria. And Carolyn, something happens. Yeah.
04:20When as a young doctor in my early 20s. Yeah. Babies are dying. Yeah. Mothers are dying. Yeah. Something happens. Yeah. It pushed me to search for more. Yeah.
04:33And I owe my journey through medicine to that. That was the start of my journey. Yeah. So how does a young person whose mother did everything she could to provide for her, but probably always maybe felt like there wasn't enough to get to provide,
04:58create a young person who then believes that they can be a doctor. Like talk me through what you have said about the strength of your mother and what she did to raise you. And then this idea of you deciding to become a doctor. What happened?
05:17Quite frankly, I didn't believe I could be a doctor. One of my uncles asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up and it sounded like a great thing to say at that time. I was seven years old. I said a doctor. Oh yeah. We have the immigrant, the immigrant careers are to be a lawyer, doctor or an engineer. If you weren't one of those three things, you might as well be in kindergarten.
05:44So I understand now why your answer would have been doctor because you were just picking one of the three. I picked one. I understand. But he then said to me, oh, you can't do that. It's not a profession for girls.
05:55And at that point, I didn't know what it would take, but I was determined to prove him wrong. Yeah. And that was it. You know, you throw in a bit of grit. Yeah. Throw in a bit of determination. Yeah. Step by step, you get there. Yeah. Yeah.
06:13So you probably were one of few women on the journey to medical school. How do you, how did you, what, what impact did that have feeling like more of an only than amongst folks that you identified with as you went to go through doctoral school?
06:32Because then I'm going to ask how you end up then running. Well, this is my word. You know, we always going to blow it up. I'm like, how do you end up running the medical industry of the world? But, but that's how we celebrate people. But let's start by how you went through the process of becoming a doctor as a woman, a black woman in a field that doesn't have that much of texture and identities and representation.
06:56Well, the interesting thing is that I went to medical school in Nigeria, right? So we were all black. So that took care of that. Well, there you go. Well, that's touche, girl. All right. Okay. Okay. Okay.
07:04So, but we were a class of about 200 and only 30 of us were women. So it was a hard walk. Yeah. But what it did show me was that medicine was not impossible for women. There was nothing gender specific about it. And I was determined to do something. I didn't know what. Yeah. To increase gender diversity. Right.
07:24And it's fortunate. It's just coincidence that decades later, I work with an enterprise that's doing just that. I don't know if you're aware that a month ago, United Health Group committed to $100 million.
07:44What's that number again?
07:45$100 million.
07:47To do what?
07:48Basically, it is to advance diversity and equity in the clinical workforce over the next 10 years.
07:59And it's not just about doctors.
08:01What else is it about?
08:02It's about doctors and nurses and mental health professionals.
08:06Hello for the mental health.
08:08And upskillers and healthcare professionals as well.
08:09So, so let's stay there because you heard me boast because I like to say I have really fun friends about you being leading the healthcare industry of the world.
08:19But for those that care about facts, which is not me, tell this audience who is United Health Group and United Healthcare.
08:28Most of them probably have interacted with a part of it.
08:31But can you just describe who that is so we can talk about what is the significance of that entity committing that number of dollars to that mission?
08:39Who is United Healthcare and United Health Group?
08:42United Health Group, I like to start off by describing, is a company with a mission that should speak to all of us in this room.
08:51Our mission is really simple.
08:53It's about helping people live healthier lives and helping healthcare systems work better for everyone.
09:01Every single person.
09:03Yeah.
09:03At the heart of our mission is health equity.
09:05Yeah.
09:06We comprise United Healthcare, which is the benefits company.
09:10We manage benefits of the people that we serve.
09:13And we also comprise Optum, which covers the spectrum when it comes to care delivery and service delivery for members as well.
09:21Yeah.
09:22So how would the everyday person have interacted with a product within United Healthcare?
09:27Is it likely their health insurance?
09:28Is it likely where would they have received one of the products you guys provide?
09:32It's interesting because we touch all aspects of the healthcare app.
09:35Yeah.
09:36Most people will associate United Health Group with insurance.
09:40Insurance.
09:40United Healthcare.
09:41And there are others, though, who are actually receiving care in facilities and the care delivery system of United Health Group.
09:50It's known as Optum, who may not even realize that that's United Health Group.
09:55Some people get their prescriptions from OptumRx, which is our pharmacy service.
10:01And we have a mental health business as well, Optum Behavioral Health.
10:06So we touch pretty much every aspect of healthcare.
10:09And I would also say that that probably means most people, at least in the United States, are probably in interaction with your products at some point in time.
10:19That there's probably fewer people that have not leveraged one of you guys' products than have.
10:23So we touch about 146 million lives in the United States.
10:28I think a couple of y'all are 146 million in case you have.
10:31So I'm just saying that she helps design what helps keep you healthy.
10:34That's my version of it.
10:36Right?
10:36And we've got a sister sitting at the top of that.
10:39So let's talk.
10:40If that is the size and scale, why would a company of that size still decide that at a $100 million commitment to make sure that the way that healthcare is provided is really working for all?
11:00Like, why is that important?
11:02Because I think everybody in this audience, and I'm going to have you raise your hand if I can't see it, has had issues as a black person getting through the healthcare system.
11:11Whether it be getting care, finding care, having coverage, like my doctor, he don't like me, he don't care that I'm black, he thinks I'm white, and everything else in between.
11:21Right?
11:22It's just me?
11:23Oh, it's just me then.
11:24Oh, I'm trying to help y'all have better health experience.
11:28So with that, what are the barriers you guys have identified, and how does that $100 million change that story?
11:37It changes the story fundamentally because everyone here, most people, are like me.
11:44I'm a black, African immigrant, lesbian, legally married, living in the state of Texas.
11:52And when my wife and I moved to Texas from New York, we needed a doctor.
11:59Hmm.
11:59Who did we look for?
12:01A doctor who got us.
12:04A doctor who looked like us.
12:06Yeah.
12:06A doctor who represented us in one way or the other.
12:09So you a doctor, you a black doctor looking for a black doctor?
12:13Somebody black, female, LGBTQ, or maybe even white, male, and not LGBTQ, but who was used to dealing with people like me.
12:24Yes.
12:24Take a look at maternal health.
12:25Let me give you an example.
12:26Please do.
12:27For maternal health.
12:27Right?
12:28Because Joker's trying to get healthy, and they need the secrets.
12:31Right.
12:31If you look across America today.
12:34Yeah.
12:34A black woman who goes in to have a baby is about three times more likely to die.
12:40Black maternal health stat.
12:42Right?
12:42Than a Hispanic or white woman.
12:46Those are the glaring statistics.
12:48Similarly, a black infant is two and a half times more likely to die than a white infant.
12:56A black infant.
12:57Say that again.
12:58A black infant is two and a half times more likely to die than a white infant.
13:03Our babies will die, and the mamas will die at a higher rate than white babies and white mamas.
13:15Now watch what happens when you introduce a black physician.
13:19Tell us.
13:20It halves the mortality rates of the infants, so it makes a difference.
13:27It saves lives.
13:28It saves lives.
13:29Because, you know, the people that we serve as clinicians need to look like, we need to look like them.
13:40Yeah.
13:41It saves lives.
13:42So when you see United committing to that amount, $100 million, it is because we recognize that if we are going to change the healthcare system, if we're going to transform healthcare, then it must be equitable and the workforce must be diverse.
14:03And that's why we're investing in that.
14:04So you have an audience of people that hear that, and it resonates with their experience in the healthcare system.
14:11I just wish I had a care provider that understood me, that got me to your point, which was very valid.
14:20Doesn't have to look like me, but you better understand me culturally, because that's what we're saying, right?
14:25You can be not white, not black, but you ought to understand culturally who I am.
14:32You sit in a position with an organization that can make the commitment with those dollars to create a different kind of experience for us.
14:40But the folks out here don't have $100 million, and some of them may work at UHC, but a lot of them don't.
14:46And so if they are trying to navigate a healthcare system that has those barriers, what is your guidance to their health journey as you guys try to solve the problem so that they can stay healthy as you solve the problems?
15:00Here's one of the things that we've realized, and what I will say to all of us here, right?
15:05Think about how we manage wealth, right?
15:08Wealth and power.
15:10We take accountability for it.
15:12And everybody here, I'm sure, can tell me what's in their bank account to the last cent.
15:17But I bet very few people can tell me what their blood pressure was this morning.
15:22So when we talk about wealth and we talk about power, let's not forget health.
15:27That is the third stool.
15:30And let's think about it like how we think about a health portfolio.
15:34You know, I mean, even though I don't have a lot of hair, the one thing that I'm really picky about is my haircut.
15:44So I'm not going to let my barber get it wrong.
15:46Yeah, and you're not taking just anybody's new barber.
15:49You'd be like, hmm.
15:50Right?
15:51So think about it like that.
15:54We empower us.
15:56I empower myself when I go in to cut my hair.
15:58I will also empower myself when I go to seek health care.
16:03The consumer is what this should be about.
16:07The person, you, not the doctor, not the health care system.
16:13So this is really about what?
16:16Take your power back.
16:19Empower yourself within the health care system.
16:22We need to hear your collective voice.
16:25I look out in this audience, I think about Essence, I think about the black woman, and I am grateful for you.
16:33I am grateful for your voices because your voices must be heard as we collectively seek to transform health care.
16:42Here's what I love about what you said.
16:45We know how to advocate for ourselves.
16:48We just don't apply it everywhere.
16:50Because what I'm going to tell you is when I go get this done, I'm watching every stroke, every strand, every rubber band like.
16:59And at the end, I'm shown a mirror about if she got it right.
17:03And she does the same style every time.
17:05And I'm still looking like.
17:07So what you're telling us is we know the behavior of being meticulous about fighting for what we like.
17:12And if it's off, I'll say to her, it's off center.
17:15We got to fix that.
17:16The ball's not big enough.
17:17My color's draining, whatever it may be.
17:19And we expect the person to change it because it's a fee for service.
17:26You are saying that that same boldness and audacity and indignance and self-empowerment should be the way that we interact with those that provide our care.
17:38That's exactly what I'm saying.
17:40And I'm also saying it's about value.
17:43Your health care system should deliver value to you.
17:48And what might be valuable to you may not be valuable to you.
17:54It's about value.
17:55How do they know if the health care system is delivering value, right?
17:58Because I might be like, it's value because I haven't been to the emergency room yet this year.
18:02As if that's the way to do preventative care.
18:04But I might say that's the health care system providing value.
18:07What do you mean when you say your health care system should be providing value for you?
18:11So value is measured in several ways, right?
18:13One would be the outcomes, right?
18:16So you feel better.
18:17Your blood pressure is controlled.
18:18Your diabetes is controlled.
18:19The second is the experience, right?
18:23Your experience as a person.
18:25The third is the doctor's experience as a person.
18:27And the fourth, let's not forget that, is that you can actually afford the care.
18:34Because I don't care how good care is.
18:37If you can't afford it, you don't get it.
18:39And you can access it.
18:41I love a fact that I learned hanging out with my friends at UHC for the last year.
18:46And one of the things they've enlightened me on is that the number one cause of bankruptcy,
18:52financial bankruptcy, is health care costs.
18:54The number one cause of financial bankruptcy is health care costs,
19:00which means then to get to black wealth, you've got to get your health together.
19:07Correct.
19:08Very well said.
19:09Right?
19:09And then I heard you say, and then I want you to give this audience something they can take away
19:13that you really want them to hear.
19:14But then what I also heard you say is we don't have a gap in understanding how to advocate for ourselves.
19:21We are not incapable.
19:22We are not at a deficit.
19:25We don't need to go take a class on how to advocate for ourselves.
19:30We do it with our hair.
19:31We do it with who we want to be in a relationship with.
19:34Some of us.
19:35We do it.
19:36I mean, no, hypothetically.
19:38Nobody in this room.
19:40But my point is you're telling us that we actually have everything we need already to go about ensuring that our health delivers value,
19:51our health care delivers value so that our health becomes something that we don't have to worry about interrupting our wealth.
19:59Exactly.
19:59And then, as you give the closing statement, what I also heard, what I also heard loud and clear from you is that for those of us that have gone to the doctor four times to try to get the same test
20:16and the doctor hasn't figured it out, maybe we don't go to the same doctor for the fourth time.
20:23Pay attention.
20:25Pay attention.
20:26Exactly.
20:26So, Dr. Margaret Mary Wilson, the leader of health care in the world.
20:33I don't care about facts.
20:34In the world.
20:35This is our world, doctor.
20:36This is everybody, doctor.
20:38What is something you haven't shared or want to share that you want this audience and the audience across the diaspora watching this with us
20:46to know as we take our seat and celebrate the chief that you are on our behalf?
20:51What do you want them to know in parting?
20:54What I would like this, everyone listening to know, is that it's possible.
21:02Here's what I will ask.
21:04We're not going to get this done without you.
21:08Somewhere, somewhere there is a child in your life, somewhere there's a person in your life who is thinking,
21:17who is maybe watching this and is thinking, how can I help?
21:21See, we can give all the money that we want to give, right?
21:26But I ask you to use your voice to encourage others to come in to the clinical realm, the workforce.
21:34That's where we need diversity.
21:36That's where we need it built out.
21:38Lots of young people out there, especially women, are discouraged from attaining their dreams because someone, somewhere, like my uncle, told them it was not possible.
21:50I'd like you all to leave here thinking and sharing the message that it's all possible.
21:57Carolyn, you and I are sitting here today.
22:00Yeah.
22:00I never thought I would be sitting here.
22:02Neither did I.
22:03Right.
22:04You wouldn't have been able to pay me money.
22:05Have the unmitigated gall to believe in a future other people can't see.
22:08Think about the health care audience.
22:10Advocate for your health.
22:11Be healthy so you can be wealthy.
22:13Ladies and gentlemen, the doctor of the world, Dr. Margaret Mary Wilson.
22:19Thank you, sis.
22:20We are proud of you.
22:21We love you.
22:21We're cheering you on.
22:22We're going to be healthier because of you.
22:24We appreciate you being here.
22:25Thank you so much.
22:26I hope you guys enjoyed it.
Comments