INSPIRIS Partners With Elderplan To Bring Careplus To New York Members
Brentwood, TN and Brooklyn, NY - INSPIRIS, the Brentwood, Tenn.-based provider of care management for frail and chronically ill seniors, announced recently a new contract with Elderplan to provide care for enrollees in its Medicare Advantage Institutional Special Needs Plan (SNP) who reside in metropolitan New York.
INSPIRIS is a care and care management company focused on improving the quality of life for the frail elderly, the chronically ill and those with disabilities, while reducing the cost to Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and commercial health plans. Elderplan is a comprehensive Medicare plan with all the benefits -- and more -- that seniors need to stay independent and healthy.
Starting March 1, INSPIRIS began providing its nursing home-based services, led by a registered nurse practitioner in coordination with a physician, to Elderplan enrollees in custodial care. Under the long-term care program, signs and symptoms of declining health status in frail, elderly patients are recognized early and appropriate adjustments to therapy are made on a timely basis. The model has proven to effectively reduce costs, decrease hospital admissions and utilization of skilled nursing care, improve outcomes and to improve patient and family satisfaction.
"Elderplan and INSPIRIS have entered this partnership to both enhance patient care and reduce unnecessary medical care," said Mike Tudeen, INSPIRIS' president and chief executive officer. "The model puts nurse practitioners in contact with these custodial members several times a month, so small changes or health declines are caught early, before they become major health issues. Under CarePlus, members and their families report a better quality of life and the need for hospital admissions is greatly reduced."
"For more than 21 years, Elderplan has offered New Yorkers affordable health care coverage and excellent physician, hospital and prescription drug benefits," said Dudley Gerow, president of managed care for Elderplan, a participating agency of Metropolitan Jewish Health System. "The personal needs and wishes of residents and their families have always been, and will continue to be, our top priority. Through Advantage, our newest plan, and our relationship with INSPIRIS, Elderplan members will receive even more coordinated, personalized service."
Studies published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society and Gerontologist show that a combination of intense management by nurse practitioners in the nursing-home setting can reduce hospitalizations for nursing home residents by 45 percent and emergency room visits by 50 percent. Analysis of Medicare claims data for an INSPIRIS client population indicated the INSPIRIS long-term care program reduced hospitalizations by 74 percent and emergency room admissions were reduced by 46 percent.
"The CarePlus model emphasizes coordinated, consistent care focused on prevention, as well as chronic and acute condition management, delivered in the appropriate setting," Tudeen said. "We are delighted that our partnership with Elderplan will extend these services to thousands of members in greater New York."
SOURCE: INSPIRIS