On Wednesday, Aetna Medicare publicly announced that it has teamed up with CareLinx and its nationwide community of more than 300,000 tech-enabled caregivers. Operating below the broader Aetna umbrella, Aetna Medicare has been running with Burlingame, California-based CareLinx at some stage in 2019 in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Nevada, New Jersey, and Washington.
By connecting its contributors to CareLinx’s pool of vetted caregivers, Aetna Medicare hopes to assist older adults with several daily living activities, including taking medication, making food, and tackling light housework, consistent with the health plan.
“Finding a certified caregiver who can help you or the one that you love may be challenging,” Christopher Ciano, head of Aetna Medicare, said in an announcement. “Resources like CareLinx will simplify the procedure and could join Aetna Medicare individuals as qualified caregivers who can be a part of us in helping our contributors’ personal needs, possibilities, and universal health dreams.”
Few—if any — domestic care corporations were more aggressive than CareLinx in hunting MA opportunities.
In December, for example, the corporation rolled out a turnkey platform for capability MA partners trying to incorporate non-scientific home care into their supplemental blessings mix. Roughly two months later, CareLinx announced it had received the Optimal Aging transitional care platform from Providence St. Joseph Health (PSJH), a move that also played into its MA goals.
CareLinx CEO and President Sherwin Sheik have repeatedly hinted at his corporation’s MA relationships. However, he hasn’t been able to speak about them brazenly until now.
“Our complete approach and enterprise version is all about Medicare Advantage,” Sheik instructed Home Health Care News. “Over the past 12 months, we’ve been asking how we have those collaborations. We’ve been going for walks with a few very big health plans — and we’ve been capable of delivering some superb outcomes so far, which includes with Aetna.”
It is just too early to discuss the consequences publicly, he said, also declining to comment on the number of Aetna Medicare individuals with access to CareLinx-related blessings.
By working with CareLinx, eligible Aetna members acquire a designated number of hours at no additional price. They can also obtain discounted service while greater hours are needed.
2021 is still ‘the large year’
Medicare Advantage became relevant to the home care world in April 2018, when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) shockingly declared it might allow certain non-medical in-home care offerings as supplemental blessings came in 2019.
Earlier this year, CMS finally doubled down on home care’s function in MA, encouraging plans to start experimenting with any advantages that “have a reasonable expectation of enhancing or retaining the health or overall characteristic of beneficiaries with continual conditions” in 2020. In trendy MA, the hobby of working with home care providers became lukewarm in 2019. This is largely due to the stairs CMS has taken, which are swiftly heating up.
“We see precisely how we thought it might play out,” Sheik said. “But I still suppose the massive year will be 2021 — not 2020.”
Aetna, in particular, is a thrilling MA connection for a home care issuer to make. The coverage giant merged with CVS Health in November in a $70 billion deal.
CVS has been vocal about its aims to offer care tailored to older adults from its MinuteClinic locations and community-primarily based health hubs—a purpose supported by its ties to the Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative.
Additionally, CVS owns Omnicare, a long-term care pharmacy issuer to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and senior living groups.
Building transitional care applications
In a 2019 survey performed with the aid of The Commonwealth Fund, about 44% of taking part MA beneficiaries reported having a hassle with at least one pastime of the day-by-day dwelling (ADL). Roughly one-0.33 stated they battle with two or more ADLs, which consist of regular daily duties and getting dressed or showering.
Considering such facts, CareLinx’s handiest expects its courting with Aetna to develop.
“What we’re seeing is … very steady with all the obtainable literature,” Sheik said. “Medicare Advantage individuals very much fee having personal care help offerings if they need that aid in the domestic.”
Anthem Inc. (NYSE: ANTM) was one of the first to detail its expanded 2019 MA services throughout many affiliated fitness plans, with a blessings package deal targeted on vitamins, transportation, social isolation, and home protection.
Meanwhile, SCAN Health Plan and CareMore, an Anthem subsidiary, worked with 24-Hour Home Care in Los Angeles.
“More and more, we’re seeing payers embracing supplying these offerings to their individuals,” Sheik stated.
With other MA contracts locked in for CareLinx for 2020, Sheik stated that several of insurers’ most popular uses of care revolve around transitional care packages or offering timely care to the most dangerous individuals.
“These Medicare Advantage plans … they’re now not seeking long-time period care,” he stated. “Traditional organizations frequently look for the average 40 or 30 hours consistent weekly. That’s no longer what plans are doing. They’re doing very brief stints in a focused fashion.”