Informed by clinical leadership experience, Meridian is taking a provider‑facing approach—including a new partnership with Violet—to improve care delivery and equity.

As health plans across the country respond to rising costs, shifting policy requirements, and growing gaps in access, many leaders are rethinking what it takes to improve population health outcomes. Few articulate this transition more clearly than Dr. Rutu Ezhuthachan, Chief Medical Officer at Meridian Health Plan of Illinois. With a clinical background in pediatrics and a philosophy built around early intervention, she is leading statewide work that reflects both the complexity of today’s environment and the opportunities ahead.

In our conversation with Dr. Ezhuthachan, she shared how Meridian approaches care quality, how the plan identifies emerging needs, and what she believes the future of value-based care will require. She also shared why Meridian partnered with Violet, explaining that the plan needed a provider-facing approach to strengthen how clinicians support members.

From pediatrics to population health

Dr. Ezhuthachan began her career in pediatrics and eventually served as Chief of Pediatrics for a large medical group in Las Vegas, overseeing care for more than sixty thousand children. When she was approached about moving into health plan leadership, she initially declined because she believed she could have the greatest impact through direct clinical practice. She later realized that a statewide role would allow her to influence systems in ways that benefit far more people.

She describes the CMO role as a point of connection, linking what clinicians know to be critical with the strategic decisions that shape how care is delivered. She also addressed a misconception she sees often, which is that CMOs in payer roles are motivated by business interests rather than patient outcomes. In her view, most CMOs remain deeply mission driven and continue to operate from their clinical ethics, only now through a much broader lens.

[CMOs] are still living their mission. They are still holding their Hippocratic oath. They just want to activate the best healthcare from a different lens.

This grounding affects how she views prevention, cost strategy, and the responsibility health plans hold in moving the field forward.

Prevention in practice: How Meridian addresses maternal deserts

Rising costs have placed enormous pressure on health plans, yet Dr. Ezhuthachan believes the path to long-term cost stability runs directly through prevention. High-quality care, she explains, is inherently cost efficient when viewed across the full continuum of a person’s life. Managing chronic disease remains necessary, but the more significant opportunity lies in helping people avoid preventable complications through early engagement and supportive services.

Key takeaway: Preventive care changes the trajectory of health—building a stronger, more sustainable healthcare system for all.

One of the clearest examples is Meridian’s maternal health work. Illinois is home to respected medical institutions, yet more than thirty percent of women in the state live in maternal deserts. Many expect these deserts to appear only in rural regions, but there are neighborhoods within Chicago that lack access to birthing hospitals as well.

Meridian’s response has been deeply tailored. Rural regions require solutions such as telehealth and mobile units that can bring prenatal care directly to members. Urban regions benefit from similar tools along with community doulas and other supports that match the density and diversity of Chicago’s population. The goal is to engage members early, address transportation challenges, and create a care experience where pregnant patients feel supported rather than isolated.

The outcomes have been significant. Meridian has seen lower NICU admissions compared to the state average, lower C-section rates, increased use of essential services such as transportation, and higher levels of confidence among mothers preparing for delivery. For Dr. Ezhuthachan, these results validate the importance of regional nuance and strong local partnerships. They also reinforce her belief that prevention is not theoretical. It has a measurable impact when implemented with care and intention.

‍Listening at scale: How Meridian identifies care gaps

Meridian uses several sources to understand where care gaps exist. Dr. Ezhuthachan explained that they start with what the state provides about their members. They also look at information from public databases. They listen to what providers are seeing in their clinics because frontline clinicians often notice patterns before data captures them. And perhaps most importantly, they ask members directly about their barriers and needs through texting and in-person conversations.

Gathering those insights is not always simple. Providers have limited time to share what they observe in their clinics. Members face hurdles of their own, including transportation and competing priorities, which can make engagement difficult even when outreach is offered through convenient tools such as texting. Dr. Ezhuthachan emphasized that both groups need to feel trust. She sees it as Meridian’s responsibility to create an environment where providers and members believe their feedback will lead to meaningful action

This commitment to listening is part of what allows Meridian to design targeted interventions such as the maternal health work described above. It also reflects a broader shift toward person-centered strategies supported by data and lived experience.

‍Preparing for the future: Value-based care and the role of AI

Looking ahead to the next policy cycle, Dr. Ezhuthachan is focused on building infrastructure that can adapt quickly. Her goal is to ensure that both members and providers understand what is changing and receive the support they need to navigate new requirements.

She is also optimistic about the accelerating shift toward value-based care. Although the transition can feel expensive in the short term, she believes that paying for outcomes rather than volume will ultimately benefit plans, providers, and members. For her, the emphasis on prevention and long-term health fits naturally with the direction value-based care is heading.

AI also plays a growing role in this future. She sees its most immediate value in reducing administrative burden. If a care manager spends less time on data entry or document review, that time can be redirected toward conversations with members. She also noted opportunities in basic productivity, automated screening, and potential improvements across the member journey, from enrollment through service delivery. What excites her most is the possibility of freeing clinical and care teams to focus on high-impact human work that cannot be automated.

Meridian + Violet 

When Meridian examined its health equity efforts, the team recognized that their member-facing interventions were strong. They offered incentives, education, and outreach. What they lacked was a provider-facing solution that could help clinicians build the skills and confidence needed to deliver more effective, person-centered care.

Violet was a natural fit, because as a provider, I know that anything I could do to upskill myself to be more effective with a patient would be meaningful to me.

Partnering with Violet filled this gap. As Dr. Ezhuthachan explained, it aligned with how Meridian evaluates solutions and supported her belief that upskilling providers has meaningful value for both clinical outcomes and patient experience. Bringing this capability to their network felt natural and complementary to the work Meridian was already doing across the state.

Throughout our conversation, Dr. Ezhuthachan returned to the same theme. Prevention is not simply a clinical philosophy. It is a population health strategy that requires listening, tailoring, and investment early in a person’s life. Meridian’s maternal health initiatives demonstrate what this looks like when implemented thoughtfully and measured over time. Their approach to policy changes and AI shows a readiness to adapt without losing sight of what matters most.

We are proud to support Meridian as they deepen these efforts and help providers deliver care that reflects the needs of the communities they serve across Illinois. Together, we aim to help more members receive person-centered care that improves outcomes and supports healthier futures.

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