SAN FRANCISCO (May 16, 2018) – The 21st century version of house calls by medical professionals is available for chronically ill people enrolled in health plans offered by Blue Shield of California and its subsidiary Care1st Health Plan through a new care-delivery collaboration with Landmark.
Landmark and Blue Shield of California Collaborate to Bring Home-Based Medical Care to Chronically Ill Patients
Landmark is a healthcare company that provides community-based, physician-led care to patients who have complex health issues and multiple, specific chronic illnesses. Landmark care teams deliver home-based medical and behavioral care, and social support services to patients 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They conduct routine visits, urgent care visits and post-discharge home visits for patients to ensure a safe transition from the hospital or skilled nursing setting back to their place of residence.
For Blue Shield, the collaboration is part of the nonprofit health plan’s growing suite of comprehensive in-home care services designed to improve the quality of and access to health care for its members.
“Our new collaboration with Landmark builds upon our strength as a nonprofit, mission-driven health plan working to ensure all Californians have access to the high-quality, affordable health care they need and that is delivered to them at the right time, in the right setting,” said Jeff Bailet, M.D., executive vice president of Health Care Quality & Affordability at Blue Shield of California. “This new program will help us expand health care options for our chronically ill members whose needs often exceed the reach of the current health system.”
Landmark is currently available for people enrolled in Blue Shield and Care1st’s Medicare health plans in select regions throughout California. The service will be expanded to members enrolled in Blue Shield’s commercial health plans and Care1st’s Medi-Cal and Cal MediConnect health plans later this year.
For eligible members, there is no additional cost to participate in this program or for services provided by Landmark. Covered services provided by non-Landmark providers through a referral from Landmark may be subject to cost-sharing based on members’ health plan benefits and coverage.
“Our goal at Landmark is to reach as many chronically ill patients as possible with our high-touch model of care, because we believe that placing specialized providers in the homes of our patients can offer the best possible health outcomes for this population,” said Chris Goldsmith, president at Landmark.
“Landmark medical professionals do not replace a patient’s primary care or specialist physicians,” Goldsmith added. “Our medical team works collaboratively with a patient’s providers and uses a proven clinical model that reinforces the in-office care plan of the patient’s provider while delivering the availability and care these patients may require 24/7.”
New collaboration delivers in-home care to chronically ill patients
Blue Shield of California and Landmark Health are announcing a new care delivery collaboration that will bring home-based comprehensive care to our members with multiple chronic conditions.
Landmark is a healthcare company that provides home-based, physician-led care to patients who have complex health issues and multiple, specific chronic illnesses.
This collaboration is part of Blue Shield’s growing suite of in-home care services designed to improve the quality of and access to health care for our members. Our current programs include a home-based palliative care program for seriously ill patients and a collaborative program with Heal™ for home visits by doctors offering primary, preventive, and urgent care services.
This new program will help us further our mission to ensure that all Californians have access to the high-quality, affordable health care they need and that it is delivered at the right time, in the right setting.
The first phase of the Landmark offering is for Medicare members only. Brokers of eligible Medicare members were sent an alert on April 12, 2018. Outreach to eligible Medicare members began on April 17, 2018.
In the second phase, scheduled for later this year, commercial brokers will be notified if they have eligible clients as we introduce this program to all market segments.
For more details about the new program, please read the news release or see the recent article in Home Health Care News.
About Landmark
Landmark is an industry leader of home-based medical care for patients with complex health needs, covering more than 80,000 lives. Its community-based, physician-led medical teams specialize in house calls and deliver medical, behavioral, social and palliative care to individuals with multiple chronic conditions wherever they reside, and wherever they need it. Landmark’s teams of mobile clinicians collaborate with patients’ families, caregivers and other medical providers to bring coordinated healthcare to people who need it the most. Landmark operates nationally, expanding coverage to reach 13 states in 2018. For more information, visit www.landmarkhealth.org.
