UnitedHealth, Humana Launch Programs for Chronic Conditions

by Jane Anderson

Both UnitedHealthcare and Humana Inc. are rolling out new disease-specific care management programs aimed at providing patients with the tools they need to help control their chronic conditions.

The new initiatives highlight new digital and time-tested interpersonal ways of managing chronic conditions, observers say.

UnitedHealth said it has launched its new digital therapy for people with type 2 diabetes that combines wearable technology and customized personal support. The therapy, called Level2, helps participants gain real-time insights about their condition, using a mobile continuous glucose monitor, activity tracker, app-based alerts and one-on-one clinical coaching.

Meanwhile, Humana says it has contracted with REACH Kidney Care, an educational nonprofit affiliated with Dialysis Clinic, Inc., to provide kidney disease care coordination services to eligible Medicare Advantage and commercial members in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The collaboration is focused on early detection of chronic kidney disease, slowing disease progression and improving the patient experience.

Joseph Paduda, principal at Health Strategy Associates, LLC, notes that both programs are designed to reduce severity and therefore the cost of treating patients, identifying patients who are "heading in the wrong direction and likely intervening." Still, Paduda says, "what's notable is that both are focused on individual disease states, especially knowing more than a third of adults — and more than half of older adults — have multiple chronic conditions."

William DeMarco, president of Pendulum HealthCare Development Corp., says that UnitedHealth has an in-house advantage with its Optum subsidiary, which connects the insurer's data platforms for claims and clinical data. Therefore, more information and measures can be tracked electronically, reducing the need for physician or even nurse intervention except when needed, DeMarco says.

DeMarco says the applicability of digital care management solutions, versus more traditional solutions, depends on the condition — although technology always has a place.

"Diabetes is a data-driven disease," and therefore particularly well-suited to digital therapy, observes Dan Mendelson, founder of Avalere Health. Other chronic conditions that are particularly data-driven include cardiovascular disease and Crohn’s disease, he says, and "any conditions that require regular medication management are likely to benefit from some kind of digital tools."

From Health Plan Weekly