Health Care for the Homeless Receives $50,000 Grant from UnitedHealthcare

• Grant to help enhance Supportive Housing Program; supports
  long-term move toward data-driven practice management and performance
  improvement
• Grant announced at Health Care for the Homeless; event featured
  check presentation, program participants

BALTIMORE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–UnitedHealthcare presented a $50,000 grant to Health Care for the
Homeless today as part of an initiative aimed at supporting
community-based solutions that integrate social and health care services
for low-income residents.

Mike Jones, CEO of UnitedHealthcare of Maryland, presented the grant to
Health Care for the Homeless at the agency’s headquarters clinic
downtown. Guests and community leaders, including supportive-housing
clients attended the event to see first-hand the program’s impact in the
community through presentations and a facility tour.

The funding will be used to collect data on supportive-housing clients,
including hospitalization and incarceration rates, along with clients’
engagement with medical, mental health and addiction treatment plans.
These metrics will be used to help inform future program direction and
improvements. The program presents a unique opportunity to track the
effect of supportive-housing care on quality of life.

Data on homelessness is lacking and often skewed, due to the many
definitions of homelessness that exist, and to the challenge in tracking
a population that is largely invisible and transient. Gaining widespread
acceptance that housing is an essential element of health care is
crucial to reducing and ending homelessness.

“UnitedHealthcare supports innovative programs that help break down
psychosocial barriers to help enhance quality of life, improve health
outcomes and reduce health care costs,” said Jones. “We are privileged
to partner with Health Care for the Homeless to help end homelessness
for vulnerable people in Baltimore.”

Maryland’s Health Care for the Homeless is recognized nationally for its
model supportive-housing program, which offers participants an intensive
support network that includes frequent home visits to engage people
“where they are” and help them rebuild healthy behaviors and routines.

A University of Maryland study of Health Care for the Homeless’ early
supportive-housing efforts found that after six months, more than 90
percent of supportive-housing clients experienced improved health.

“Housing is health care,” said Health Care for the Homeless President
and CEO Kevin Lindamood. “Together, we can substantiate that fact with
data that will enable us to improve individual clients’ health, and
demonstrate how we can improve the health of our larger community
through access to stable, secure and supportive housing. We are grateful
for UnitedHealthcare’s support, and look forward to a future of greater
and many more supportive-housing successes.”

In 2014, Health Care for the Homeless provided comprehensive services to
nearly 9,200 people experiencing homelessness, about 1,000 of whom were
enrolled in UnitedHealthcare’s Medicaid plans.

In the last five years, UnitedHealthcare has invested more than $230
million in supportive-housing programs across the country. The Health
Care for the Homeless grant is the company’s latest investment in
affordable housing with supportive services for people experiencing
homelessness, low-income individuals and families, military veterans,
seniors and people with special needs. It is its first such investment
in Maryland.

UnitedHealthcare serves more than 800,000 people in Maryland enrolled in
Medicaid, Medicare and employer-sponsored health plans with a network of
67 hospitals and more than 17,000 physicians and other care providers
statewide.

About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare
is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by
simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and
wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care
providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit
programs for individuals, employers, military service members, retirees
and their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and
contracts directly with more than 850,000 physicians and care
professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide.
UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:
UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company. For more
information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com
or follow @myUHC on Twitter.

Click
here to subscribe to Mobile Alerts for UnitedHealth Group.

Contacts

UnitedHealthcare
Buddy Castellano, 952-931-4775
buddy_castellano@uhc.com