[September 16, 2014]

Integra ServiceConnect® Improves Healthcare Access, Quality and Costs for Underserved Populations

Despite the availability of health insurance, millions of Americans fail every year to access critical healthcare services because of socioeconomic, behavioral and environmental barriers - costing the system billions of dollars with little to show for that investment. Integra ServiceConnect® addresses this issue by providing health plans with community-based programs designed to connect underserved members with the services they need.

Integra is working with health plans nationwide, including Gateway Health Plan to serve a growing population of individuals eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid benefits. "Integra is helping Gateway (News - Alert) members receive the care they need, where they live," said David Rosenthal, MD, MHA, former Behavioral Health Medical Director at Gateway Health Plan in Pennsylvania. "They offer support and coordination that is compassionate and caring, while also being pragmatic. Integra empowers our members to remain independent in their communities."

"We work in the community with individuals who are at the highest risk of slipping through the cracks of a complex and daunting healthcare system," said Michael Yuhas, President and CEO of Integra ServiceConnect. "Historically, programs designed to reach and engage underserved health plan members have been very clinically-driven, with the primary focus on specific health conditions being addressed. Much less attention has been paid to developing well-defined strategies for actually reaching and engaging the members. We don't view outreach and engagement as secondary to managing the member's health condition - we view it as absolutely essential. Without successfully reaching members and engaging them in their own healh, the rest won't matter."

Integra works with individuals who have multiple chronic medical and behavioral health needs, often compounded by socioeconomic barriers, such as homelessness, and lack of adequate transportation that impact their access to proper care. These members frequent emergency departments or urgent care centers for problems that could be much more effectively addressed in a primary care setting. This leads to lack of preventive care, poor coordination among multiple providers, continued worsening of their chronic illnesses, repeat hospitalizations, and billions of dollars spent with little impact on health outcomes.

Integra uses a community health worker service model to locate and engage members in their own communities. Teams of non-clinical Community Coordinators are hired and trained within the communities where members reside, so they can best connect and build relationships with those needing help overcoming gaps in care.

Once a member is engaged, Integra focuses on those factors that most strongly influence health status, but are not related to health care. Notes Yuhas: "Approximately 80 percent of health outcomes can be attributed to psychosocial, environmental, and behavioral factors." Integra works with members to identify and address basic barriers to care, such as knowledge of available resources, transportation, scheduling of timely appointments, language barriers, etc.

Integra has worked with health plans to successfully reach as many as 70 percent of members who had been considered unreachable, engaging as many as 80 percent of these members, and connecting as many as 85 percent of engaged members with appropriate care providers to get important care gaps closed. For members with chronic care needs, Integra has helped connect individuals with appropriate community care and resources, while reducing hospital admissions and readmissions by 50 percent.

With a service model built on a virtual workforce, Integra is able to deploy community-based teams in states across the country and is quickly developing a national footprint. Its ability to replicate its service model in any geographic region allows Integra to consistently serve the needs of members nationwide for multi-state and national health plans.

To learn more about Integra and its mission, visit booth 16 at AHIP's National Conferences on Medicare & Medicaid and Dual Eligibles Summit on Sept. 28-Oct. 2, 2014 in Washington, D.C., or visit www.integraserviceconnect.com.

About Integra ServiceConnect
Integra ServiceConnect® is a healthcare services company specializing in community-based non-clinical support for individuals with healthcare and related social service needs around the country. Based in Owings Mills, Md., Integra's services are designed to help the country's top health plans, health systems and government organizations find, engage and connect underserved members to care that can preserve and improve their health. Integra has been providing community-based services for individuals with complex healthcare needs for more than two decades, and operates under the mission of "Better Health Outcomes through the Power of Relationships."

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