SCAN Funds Nurses For Dual Eligibles
SCAN Health Plan has granted $2 million to improve home healthcare and nursing outreach for Californians enrolled in both Medicare and Medi-Cal.
The grant was provided to the Alliance for Leadership and Education (ALE), an affiliate of the California Association for Adult Day Services. That non-profit group advocates for adult day services to keep frail low-income patients in their homes.
The money will be placed into the Community-Based Adult Services Program, which is administered by the Department of Health Care Services under a federal waiver wthe the goal of cutting costs for dual-eligible enrollees enrolled in managed care plans. It replaced the state's Adult Day Health Care program last year.
“Our goal is to evolve the CBAS model to better integrate it within the larger health system,” said Lydia Missaelides, ALE's executive director. “We believe this project has significant potential for improving quality of care across the state for adults with complex health conditions, while reducing overall health costs.”
Funds will help pay for the eight nurse “navigators,” who will operate at seven CBAS centers. They will play a role in evaluating dual-eligibles' health conditions, coordinating care and medication, and providing education and coaching services to them and their caregivers in order to keep them in their homes.
According to CBAS data, the typical enrollee is taking 10 medications and is suffering from six chronic conditions, meaning they are at continual risk of being hospitalized without close monitoring.
SCAN officials estimate the funds will be enough to regularly monitor 280 enrollees in the CBAS program.
“We are particularly pleased to fund the delivery of services that will help these seniors receive the support and resources they need to stay in their communities with dignity as they age,” said Chris Wing, chief executive officer of the Long Beach-based SCAN. The health plan has 145,000 Medicare enrollees in California and Arizona.
