AmeriHealth Caritas Iowa’s Rapid Response and Outreach Team to Provide Personal Support to Medicaid Recipients Under IA Health Link
AmeriHealth Caritas Iowa Members Will Receive Help Scheduling and
Keeping Medical Appointments, Adhering to Medication Regimens and
Accessing Community Resources
DES MOINES, Iowa–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AmeriHealth
Caritas Iowa, a Medicaid managed care health plan that will
serve Iowa Medicaid beneficiaries as part of the state’s new IA
Health Link program beginning January 2016, will help its members
navigate the health care system and overcome barriers to care through
its Rapid Response and Outreach Team. The effort is modeled after
successful AmeriHealth Caritas programs that have produced both better
medical outcomes and savings for taxpayers in managed care programs
across the country.
Improving health outcomes requires an emphasis on more than health
issues themselves. Medicaid recipients often have many challenges in
their life that interfere with their ability to manage their health.
AmeriHealth Caritas Iowa’s Rapid Response and Outreach Team will help
members overcome all barriers to obtaining the health care products and
services their providers, care managers and/or care connectors determine
they need. The Rapid Response and Outreach Team will help members find
providers, schedule appointments, arrange transportation to those
appointments, and obtain and adhere to medication regimens. They will
also connect members with other resources available in their communities.
AmeriHealth Caritas Iowa’s Rapid Response and Outreach Team will be
based on the model utilized by other Medicaid managed care plans
throughout AmeriHealth
Caritas Family of Companies. Team members are locally based, have
intimate knowledge of the communities they serve and are peers of the
members.
“This type of personal support is very important for Medicaid
recipients. And it is made possible by Medicaid managed care,” said
Cheryl Harding, market president for AmeriHealth Caritas Iowa. “Across
the nation, most Americans on Medicaid are served through managed care.
And managed care initiatives, such as our Rapid Response and Outreach
programs, have produced both better health outcomes and savings for
taxpayers. It’s another example of the value that IA Health Link will
bring to the people of Iowa and particularly those most in need.”
To see examples of what AmeriHealth Caritas has accomplished in Medicaid
managed care and what it can do for Iowa, view the videos at www.amerihealthcaritas.com/news/multimedia.aspx.
The new IA Health Link program will serve the majority of Iowa’s
Medicaid population, or about 600,000 Iowans, through select managed
care plans. For more information about the IA Health Link program, visit http://dhs.iowa.gov/.
About AmeriHealth Caritas Iowa
AmeriHealth Caritas Iowa, part of the AmeriHealth Caritas Family of
Companies, is one of the Medicaid managed care plans that will
participate in IA Health Link beginning in January 2016. AmeriHealth
Caritas Iowa will help Iowans get proper care and stay well, working
with communities in need to achieve positive health outcomes throughout
the state. For more information, visit www.amerihealthcaritasia.com.
About AmeriHealth Caritas Family of Companies
AmeriHealth Caritas is part of the Independence Health Group in
partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. AmeriHealth Caritas
is one of the nation’s leaders in health care solutions for those most
in need. Operating in 16 states and the District of Columbia,
AmeriHealth Caritas serves more than 6.9 million Medicaid, Medicare and
CHIP members through its integrated managed care products,
pharmaceutical benefit management and specialty pharmacy services,
behavioral health services, and other administrative services.
Headquartered in Philadelphia, AmeriHealth Caritas is a mission-driven
organization with more than 30 years of experience serving low-income
and chronically ill populations. For more information, visit www.amerihealthcaritas.com.
Contacts
AmeriHealth Caritas
Joshua Brett, 1-215-863-5458
jbrett@amerihealthcaritas.com
