IMAT Solutions Blog

23 Oct Alignment Health Plan to Offer Concierge Services and Social Determinants of Health Benefits

Posted at 16:54h in Health Payers by DesignWorks 0 Comments

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From transportation to appointments to grocery benefits to companion care, Alignment Health Plan will offer qualified Medicare Advantage members a wide-range of social determinants of health (SDOH) benefits in 2020. According to this recent Health Payer Intelligence article, the grocery benefit will provide members with a monthly allowance at CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart, and the companion care benefit Alignment will connect members with college students who can help with non-medical tasks such as household chores and...

17 Oct PwC Study: Data Analytics Critical for Advancing Social Determinants of Health Efforts for Payers

Posted at 18:55h in Health Payers by DesignWorks 0 Comments

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A recent study by the PwC Health Research Institute is urging healthcare stakeholders to “act now” when it comes to addressing social determinants of health (SDOH). The report highlights how investing earlier in social determinants strategies that help people with housing, exercise, mental health support and ability to afford medications, will help governments and health systems save money in the long-term and improve health outcomes. To bring these efforts to life, PwC is calling on payers to...

25 Sep GAO Report: Need for Social Determinants of Health Programs to Treat High-Cost Medicaid Beneficiaries

Posted at 21:14h in Health Payers by DesignWorks 0 Comments

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The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued a report about how Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) such as a lack of stable transportation or housing are making it difficult for states and managed care organizations to treat the most expensive Medicaid beneficiaries. While the report found that many states used care management, which coordinates care across different providers, to rein in high-cost beneficiaries, many also reported major hurdles with implementing care management for some high-cost beneficiaries. These...

18 Sep Optima Health Addresses Food Security in Social Determinants of Health Efforts

Posted at 22:52h in Health Payers by DesignWorks 0 Comments

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As we have highlighted before, many payers are addressing social determinants of health (SDOH) by addressing some of the more human elements, which include housing to having local field teams working on the ground with patients. Optima Health is taking this concept one-step-further by launching a new program that lowers financial barriers to healthy food options, and increases overall food security. Much of this effort is taking place in the state of Virginia, where the percentage of...

11 Sep Health Payers: Schema Versus Data Lakes and Social Determinants of Health Efforts

Posted at 19:00h in Health Payers by DesignWorks 0 Comments

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With many payers embracing social determinants of health (SDOH) for “whole person” care, there are bound to be challenges when it comes to managing massive amounts of health data. In addition, tackling social barriers, such as transportation access, safe housing, as well as health and diet, requires a major effort to standardize how data is collected, processed and integrated to develop programs that support patient well-being. As such, many payers are most likely considering the options between schema/structured...

04 Sep Health Payers Bringing Human Element to Social Determinants of Health Efforts

Posted at 17:41h in Health Payers by DesignWorks 0 Comments

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With social determinants of health (SDOH) in the payer arena focusing on “whole person” care, several payers are embracing innovative approaches to this emerging frontier – often bringing in more of a human element. To address social and economic barriers to better serve vulnerable populations, payers are doing everything from providing housing for the homeless to having local field teams work directly with patients and providers. For example, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois is investing...

12 Aug Health Data News Roundup: Benefits of Social Determinants and Payers; DirectTrust Milestone; and IMAT at SHIEC 2019

Posted at 09:00h in ACOs, Health Payers, HIEs, Hospitals and Clinics by DesignWorks 0 Comments

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Welcome to the Health Data Weekly News Roundup from IMAT Solutions. As the power of data continues to grow in the healthcare arena, today’s care organizations need to be on the forefront of all news and trends to help ensure that their data analytics efforts deliver accountable and informed care. Each week, we will provide you with the actionable news you need to meet these goals. Benefits of Investing in Social Determinants of Health for Payers UnitedHealthcare’s...

17 Jul The Rise of Social Determinants of Health in Payer Arena

Posted at 20:46h in Health Payers by DesignWorks 0 Comments

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Late last month, AHIP hosted its 2019 Expo and one of the key themes of the event was the rise of social determinants of health (SDOH) – specifically the need for payers to focus on “whole person care,” as well as to address social and economic barriers to better serve vulnerable populations. Mark Farrah Associates (MFA), a publisher of health plan market data, offered these insights into what was covered with regards to SDOH and payers...

10 Jul Aetna Launches Precision Medicine Efforts to Improve Health Outcomes and Decrease Costs

Posted at 18:45h in Health Payers by DesignWorks 0 Comments

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The payer arena is starting to embrace precision medicine to improve overall health outcomes and enhance cost-savings. For example, Aetna is now leading the way with a new precision medicine program that embraces breast and ovarian cancer testing program using the BRCA gene test. Aetna is also implementing a genetic information privacy policy, becoming the first health plan to require quality credentialing of genetic testing labs. With the number of genetic tests increasing to more than...

20 Jun Anthem Enhances Health Access and Behavioral Health Management

Posted at 19:23h in Health Payers by DesignWorks 0 Comments

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In an effort to enhance overall health addressing behavioral health within its beneficiary populations, Anthem recently announced that it is acquiring Beacon Health Options, a behavioral health management company that serves beneficiaries in all 50 states. As highlighted in the press release announcing the acquisition, Beacon currently serves more than 36 million individuals across all 50 states, including nearly 3 million individuals under comprehensive risk-based behavioral programs. “With an extensive track record in behavioral health, Beacon fits well...