VNS Health Extends Its Mission to Other States
On January 1st, in a ground-breaking step that will help our organization grow and diversify, VNS Health began managing hospice benefits for Medicare Advantage (MA) members of Vantage Health—a health insurer based in Louisiana that offers MA plans in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi. This collaboration is one of the first initiatives to be launched by our Professional Services team. It includes a third partner as well, the nationwide palliative and hospice care provider, Compassus, who will deliver palliative care and hospice services to Vantage MA plan members in their homes.
Why It Matters
Under its contract with Vantage Health, VNS Health is managing the 2023 hospice benefit for several thousand Vantage MA plan members in the three states where Vantage operates.
“This is exciting news for our organization,” says Dan Savitt, President and CEO of VNS Health. “It’s the first example of taking what we do so well here in New York, and extending our expertise to vulnerable people across the country. The fact that we’re extending VNS Health’s mission to thousands of individuals outside the New York area is something we can all be proud of.”
The Backstory
Since January 2021, VNS Health has been part of a Medicare hospice benefit demonstration that, for the first time ever, lets participating MA plans include hospice care in their benefit packages—a change that makes palliative care and hospice services much more accessible to MA plan members. VNS Health is now drawing on our own experience in this demonstration to support Vantage Health’s participation in the same program. This support includes helping Vantage meet the reporting requirements of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); assisting Vantage with analytics that help to identify members who could benefit from palliative or end-of-life care; and helping design outcome measurements.
“Vantage is a great organization,” notes David Rosales, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer. “They are a mission-driven health plan with a strong provider network that’s passionate about serving its members, just as we are. We’re learning from them as much as they’re learning from us, and we’re very excited to be partnering with them.”
