Plans Work to Address Needs of Isolated, “Invisible” Seniors

by Judy Packer-Tursman

Loneliness and social isolation — and the struggle for some individuals, especially seniors, to maintain social connections — are emerging as issues vital for health insurers to address.

A recent national survey by Humana Inc. found nearly one-third of Medicare-eligible individuals older than 65 don’t feel socially engaged — and evidence is mounting, according to researchers, that unconnected seniors are likelier to confront a higher risk of cognitive decline, heart disease, stroke and a whole host of other health problems or even premature death.

With this understanding, health plan interventions are cropping up — and one effort that launched in May 2017 is starting to show encouraging results. That’s according to Robin Caruso, a social worker at Anthem Inc.’s subsidiary CareMore Health, an integrated health plan and care delivery system for Medicare and Medicaid members, who spoke during an Oct. 15 webinar sponsored by the National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) Foundation.

CareMore’s ongoing initiative, called the Togetherness Program, targets loneliness as a health condition that can be diagnosed and treated through community-based interventions and close engagement with patients. This includes weekly phone calls to participating seniors from program staff or from trained CareMore employees who volunteer to be phone pals, as well as visits from social workers who can connect seniors to community-based services.

Since its introduction, the Togetherness Program has made 15,000-plus calls to seniors in Anthem’s Medicare Advantage (MA) plans who are covered through CareMore’s delivery system, and 700 referrals to resources and programs, Caruso said. She also cited an 11% reduction in acute care hospital costs, a 5% decline in outpatient emergency room utilization and a 22% reduction in depression among program participants — 53% of whom are now exercising regularly in a fitness program with a social connection component.

“Not every person we call wants to be part of the program,” Caruso said. “Not everyone wants to engage in their health care…but the fact that we’re making connections — that one phone call they’re getting each week….They do know there’s someone out there who cares about them.”

 From Health Plan Weekly

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