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Focused Health Solutions selected to provide health management and disease prevention programs to Medicare beneficiaries
DEERFIELD, IL, February 28, 2008 – Chicago-area’s Focused Health Solutions, a leading provider of health promotion and disease management services, is one of five companies chosen to participate in the Medicare Senior Risk Reduction Demonstration. The demonstration is a national government program that seeks ways to maintain and improve the health of Medicare beneficiaries, while reducing costs by lessening the need for health care services.
Deerfield, IL-based Focused Health Solutions, which was selected to participate in the demonstration by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), currently works with a number of self-insured Fortune 1000 companies across the nation to reduce healthcare costs through highly targeted disease management programs.
The demonstration will evaluate whether health promotion and disease prevention programs, currently offered to private insurers and employers by companies such as Focused Health Solutions, can effectively be delivered to Medicare beneficiaries. The demonstration seeks to find ways to encourage beneficiaries to engage in practices that can help them maintain and improve their health, and reduce the need for health care services for preventable illnesses, injuries or complications.
“The Senior Risk Reduction Demonstration is of monumental importance,” said James F. Fries, M.D., professor of medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, one of the world’s pre-eminent leaders in health promotion research and policy, and advisor to Focused Health Solutions and The Good Health Company programs. “This demonstration shows growing recognition of the benefits of modern self-management techniques to empower individuals to make appropriate health decisions in their own best interests. These efforts should assist in the formation of a healthier population through the continual investigation into health-management options to develop new solutions to address the changing healthcare needs of today.”
Recently, Focused Health Solutions acquired The Good Health Company, national health promotion provider that offers programs designed to empower individuals to take control of their health. The addition of The Good Health Company’s health risk assessment and health coaching capabilities to Focused Health Solutions’ disease management offerings provides FHS with a unique integrated health continuum solution to companies looking to reduce healthcare costs through individualized programs.
“We are pleased with this selection, which says that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have recognized us as one of the premier organizations in health and wellness,” said Nancy Nelson, CEO of Focused Health Solutions. “This validates our recent movement into population health management through the addition of The Good Health Company. We believe that an end-to-end, high-touch solution is the best way for any organization to achieve cost savings through improved population health and appropriate health care utilization.”
Under the demonstration design, Focused Health will provide health risk assessments followed by tailored feedback reports to help participants identify their health risks and inform them of ways they can improve their health. Participants also will receive health education and behavior change information and ongoing health coaching, which participants can receive via mail, telephone, or the Internet.
“This demonstration project represents a tremendous opportunity to document how investments in health can contribute to appropriate and cost-effective use of the health care system,” said David Hoke, vice president, Focused Health Solutions, and co-founder of The Good Health Company. “With our participation, we can provide the program with services across the entire spectrum – individualized risk assessments for Medicare beneficiaries who are generally healthy, and personalized self-management and coaching programs to those who may be diagnosed with chronic illnesses.”
About Focused Health Solutions
Focused Health Solutions is one of the 10 largest independent companies in the growing disease-management industry. The company designs a personalized program for each of its clients’ employees that sets goals, encourages healthy behaviors and reduces employee use of high-cost medical resources. The company offers an active disease-management model built upon opt-in enrollment, remote telehealth monitoring and frequent nurse interactions. With its recent acquisition of The Good Health Company, Focused Health Solutions also offers an end-to-end, high-touch solution for employers, brokers and third-party administrators. For more information on how Focused Health Solutions’ services can help your organization, visit www.focusedhealthsolutions.com.
About the CMS Senior Risk Reduction Demonstration
The Medicare Senior Risk Reduction Demonstration will provide tailored information and support to Medicare beneficiaries, helping them to take better care of themselves so they can maintain their health and independence. The demonstration will address multiple health risk factors that contribute to chronic diseases, including physical inactivity, obesity, smoking, depression, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar, as well as those who under-use Medicare’s preventive benefits.
Approximately 85,000 fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries randomly selected from across the country will be invited to participate in the three-year demonstration – 17,000 per demonstration organization. Click here for more information.