How a Pediatrician and a Health Plan are Shaping Child Health

Dr. Anthony Malone has been involved in general pediatrics for almost 50 years, and his dedication to serving young patients shines as bright as ever.

“I’m way over 65. People ask me, ‘Why don’t you retire?’” he says with a smile.

For Dr. Malone, the answer is simple: “It’s because children deserve to have the best life possible, to have the best opportunities for growing up. And I feel like I can be part of that. So, as long as I feel I’m contributing to their well-being and their potential for living a great life, I continue to do it.”

Dr. Malone is a developmental and general pediatrician at Community Care Physician Group in New York’s Capital Region. He has deep experience in both well care and sick care for children, and he also specializes in caring for children with special needs such as Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, prematurity and more. He was also one of the first physicians to join the CDPHP® provider network when the health plan was founded more than 40 years ago.

Most of all, Dr. Malone is passionate about working directly with children. “I get to hear their ideas, their joys, their fears, and reflect directly with them,” he says, explaining those kinds of interactions are the highlight of his day.

A Team Effort to Promote Wellness

Dr. Malone believes pediatric primary care works best when physicians and health plans work together to promote children’s well-being. He’s found exactly that collaborative approach with CDPHP, which he describes as a fair, honest, and communicative insurance plan that truly supports physicians in caring for their patients.

“I want to be an active participant with the insurance company to make things right for my patient,” he says. He emphasizes that this is not just a matter of addressing or preventing illness — it’s about promoting wellness, which to him includes addressing literacy, resilience, mental health, inequities and more.

Through his many years of working with CDPHP, he has found the health plan to be very collaborative with primary care at levels that are beyond approving immunizations, medications and specialty care.

For example, one initiative that is close to Dr. Malone’s heart is his effort to help build resilience in families by sharing educational resources. “CDPHP has been quite generous in our primary care setting,” he says, explaining that they have supported initiatives such as gift packages for families with newborns that consist of educational materials, books, and more that promote safe sleep.

“These packages have very little to do with direct health care, but they have a lot to do with promoting wellness. CDPHP saw the value in that, and they support it year after year. That’s well beyond what an insurance company might think about.”

Dr. Malone explains that CDPHP also supports the community in other creative ways beyond conventional medical care. For instance, he appreciates that he has seen CDPHP support local theater productions. “I think community wellness is more than getting your flu vaccine. It’s also going to a play and feeling good about what you’ve experienced and saying, ‘My health insurance company recognizes that when I laugh in the evening, it makes my next day healthier.’”

A Physician-Driven Health Plan

Back in the clinic, Dr. Malone says that CDPHP also shares his commitment to evidence-based medicine. That common focus is not a coincidence. “I’m convinced that CDPHP can deliver better funding for better care because they have an administration that is physician driven,” he says. “The way that CDPHP is structured makes them very well suited to understand the needs of physicians because their decision makers are physicians.”

He adds that he believes CDPHP has been on the forefront of care and medical models for children and adults. “They’ve really led that in our region far, far earlier than almost any other insurance company,” he explains.

As a result, he says, CDPHP has been a positive influence on his ability to practice medicine.

“As a physician, it means that when I have a young child who is significantly ill or has complex challenges, I can count on CDPHP to help get that child to a better place. If I have a child who has a developmental disability, where the parents are really at some difficult place in their life because of that disability, I can count on CDPHP doing the right thing.”

Want to learn more about CDPHP member and employer experiences? Explore their stories and learn how working with CDPHP has made a difference. 

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