MedZed Expands Capability to Support Medicaid Health Homes
By Scott Schnell
Medicaid Health Homes – provided for by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) -- are growing across the country due to increased awareness of the impact of social determinants of health (SDoH). Demonstrated results backed by federal funding are increasing states’ participation and provide a low-risk way to innovate services delivered to vulnerable populations. Outcomes and cost savings among many of the states that have implemented Health Homes programs report improved quality, fewer ED visits, and decreased hospital admissions – making a strong argument for improved integration of social and medical care.
While the design of Health Homes programs fluctuates by state, the overall focus on behavioral health and addressing social health needs aligns well with MedZed’s mission to create access and provide patients with a whole-person approach to care. We are excited to expand our offerings to assist plans with these important programs.
MedZed is a mobile primary and specialty care provider who has been finding, engaging, and serving vulnerable Medicaid populations for over 6 years. Our recent acquisition of Integra ServiceConnect, a leader in engaging at-risk populations, has expanded our service offering to include a community health worker model specifically focused on SDoH. This brings a decade of experience engaging as much as 50% of referred members and delivering the services outlined in the Health Homes benefit design. We are significantly decreasing leading indicators such as ED utilization and in-patient costs and generating as much as a 9:1 ROI for clients. MedZed has a scalable solution, building a social tapestry of community health workers supported by our core team of nurses, primary care providers, and care coordination to deliver an excellent Health Homes program.
We are excited to announce our entry to Health Homes market launching programs in Imperial and San Diego Counties with Health Net and Molina in CA and becoming a community-based care management entity (CB-CME) in California. MedZed’s expertise in a team-based approach to care management seamlessly integrates members into the existing provider ecosystem and works directly with local community and social support organizations to enable healthcare navigation. Our wraparound programs are specifically developed for transitions of care and ED reduction of Medicaid populations and are all managed by a robust technology platform that offers risk assessment and member level reporting tools.
With current estimates showing that over 10M people will become eligible for Medicaid due to the Covid pandemic and impacts of unemployment, Health Homes’ demonstrated ability to deliver cost savings through integrating social and medical care grows even more critical. As budgets get cut to deal with the increase in Medicaid beneficiaries, MedZed offers a way to begin engaging with and positively impacting members in a little as 90 days. Timing and experience will be critical factors in determining the success of our new social realities. MedZed’s turnkey solution delivers rapid results in Health Homes and prepares plans for regulatory changes on the horizon such as Long-Term Care at Home and CalAim’s Enhanced Care Management initiatives across California.
Scott Schnell
Scott is Co-Founder and CEO of MedZed, where he orchestrated the original business model, technology platform and customer acquisition plan for the company's success with Co-Founder, Neil Solomon. Scott has started, grown, led and ultimately sold tech-enabled service companies during his career, including RMA Home Services, which was sold to Home Depot. Scott is a Certified Public Accountant and graduate of the University of Michigan