Evercare Expands STAR+PLUS Offerings to 22 Counties in Texas
Minneapolis, MN - Evercare, a division of UnitedHealth Group, announced that the Company will expand its Evercare® STAR+PLUS health care plan to 22 counties in the Harris, Nueces and Travis Service Delivery Areas in Texas.
STAR+PLUS was launched by the State of Texas in 1998 in Harris County as a pilot program and has according to them since grown to serve approximately 65,000 members in that county. The program combines health and long-term services to elderly and people with disabilities, enabling them to achieve improved health and wellness access, quality and outcomes at home or in assisted living facilities. The 79th Legislative Session directed the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to utilize cost-effective models to better manage the care of aged, blind, and persons with disabilities enrolled in Medicaid. HHSC recently approved STAR+PLUS for expansion into an additional 28 Texas counties because they believe it has proven to be an efficient and effective program for enabling easier and better access to health care services for Medicaid recipients while saving the state government millions in health care costs. Enrollment for eligible Medicaid recipients across these new service areas will begin in the Fall, and these new services will be effective on January 1, 2007.
The cornerstone of the Evercare STAR+PLUS program is providing members with personalized service coordination to help them navigate through today's fragmented health care system. Evercare assigns service coordinators to work individually with each member with the aim to create a customized, holistic care plan that considers a member's medical and non-medical needs. The service coordinator then arranges services including respite care, food delivery, and transportation and monitors the member's health status. In addition, service coordinators engage regularly with primary care physicians, family members, and caregivers which they hope will help ensure members are receiving integrated, high-quality care.
Evercare claim that they currently serve more than 100,000 members across the country with programs similar to STAR+PLUS in Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Washington. Evercare says a key aspect of their approach to care is prevention. Prior to STAR+PLUS, recipients of traditional Medicaid plans were believed to have missed simple yet critical preventive services such as immunizations, annual physicals and flu shots - often due to avoidable problems such as transportation and lack of access. Evercare also includes extra benefits such as eyeglass coverage and dental services.
For those living with more serious diseases, such as diabetes and congestive heart failure, Evercare offers CareCheck, an educational program they say will help members improve their lifestyle, disease management, and overall health outcomes. Additionally, for those members who are homebound, Evercare offers HomeCheck, a program focused on bringing the primary care physician and other services to the member in his/her own home.
SOURCE: Evercare