Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM), one of the nation's leading health and well-being companies, has joined the partnership between Alignment Healthcare and UNC Health Care to provide a new, improved Medicare Advantage HMO plan in the Raleigh, North Carolina area, to keep seniors healthier and to lower healthcare costs.
Focused on making it easy for people to achieve their best health, Humana offers clinical excellence through coordinated care for the millions of Medicare members it serves across the country. People who enroll in the new plan offered through Humana Gold Plus in the Raleigh area, will have access to a unique network of providers through UNC Health Care – including UNC Physician Network, UNC Faculty Physicians and Rex-employed specialists, Rex Hospital, and UNC Hospitals. The network will ensure access to a high-quality medical experience that provides a full continuum of care close to home.
"Our strategic partnership with Humana will provide an unrivaled care coordination model to the Medicare eligibles in Wake County. This will create new care standard in North Carolina for treating the elderly, especially those with chronic diseases," said Dr. Donald Furman, President of North Carolina for Alignment Healthcare. "Humana is a like-minded partner who wants to improve its corner of the US health care system. Our program enables integration by creating alignment across all parties so that the consumer's healthcare experience and clinical outcome both improve. Together, Humana, Alignment and UNC are connecting the dots of population-based management – one patient at a time."
Across the country, health care officials are looking for ways to change the health care system from one that rewards the volume of services doctors and hospitals provide to one that rewards quality and value. The goal is to offer better quality care and save money by carefully tracking patients' needs. If patients are healthier they're less likely to need an expensive hospitalization or emergency care.
"Humana's goal is to partner with our members to achieve lifelong health and well-being for the communities we serve," says Tim Moorhead, Humana's North Carolina Market Vice President. "This partnership with Alignment and UNC is designed to help our members in the area achieve healthier outcomes and a higher quality of life."
With Medicare Advantage, patients enjoy more benefits from an advanced clinical model that will help improve outcomes and reduce overall costs. Of the approximately 113,000 Medicare-eligible people living in Wake County, about 30 percent (or 34,000 individuals) are currently enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, including all North Carolina State Health Plan retirees who reside in the county. Medicare enrollees can review their plan options through December 7 of this year and begin to receive care in January 2015.
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