HARTFORD, Conn., Aug. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Aetna (NYSE: AET)
and CareCentrix announced today that Aetna has named CareCentrix as
its preferred provider of home health care services to its 1.2
million members in Florida. Aetna
has also contracted with CareCentrix to provide its members with
access to a program focused on assisting them with transitioning
from hospital care to home care, and consequently reducing the
rising rate of hospital readmissions.
CareCentrix, the nation's leading provider of home health
benefits management services, will work directly with Aetna's
providers in Florida to coordinate
home health care needs, consisting of skilled nursing, physical,
occupational and speech therapy, aide services and medical social
work services. Aetna's members also will have access to
CareCentrix's Successful Transition And Recovery in the home
program (HomeSTAR)™. This program offers specialized nursing
support, telephonic coaching and telemonitoring to help patients
safely transition from the hospital to their home. HomeSTAR has
proven to reduce the number of people being readmitted to the
hospital, which recent studies estimate to be as high as one in
five nationally. Some exclusions will apply.
"Aetna is very pleased to announce this affiliation with
CareCentrix," said Dr. Robert Kropp,
Aetna's Southeast Region medical director. "People are living
longer today, and they are more likely to need home health care
services at some point. CareCentrix will help assure that our
Florida members receive access to
high-quality home care, while improving quality by reducing
patients' risk for readmission."
"We are excited to collaborate with one of the nation's leading
health care benefits companies to promote affordable access to
health care and combat the rising problem of people being
readmitted to the hospital," said Dr. William Kerr, chief medical officer,
CareCentrix. "Our HomeSTAR program is built upon industry best
practices that, coupled with our home health care expertise, is
reducing hospital readmissions and enabling people to successfully
recover at home. We believe home health care can play a leading
role in helping Aetna's members achieve better health outcomes at
an improved cost."
About Aetna
Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care
benefits companies, serving approximately 36.5 million people with
information and resources to help them make better informed
decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of
traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance
products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental,
behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical
management capabilities and health care management services for
Medicaid plans. Our customers include employer groups, individuals,
college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans,
governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and
expatriates. For more information, see www.aetna.com.
About CareCentrix
Founded in 1996, CareCentrix manages home nursing, infusion and
medical equipment services for more than 30 million people across
the country through a network of over 7,000 credentialed home care
providers. The company provides health care plans and providers
with a one-stop solution that coordinates care for patients in the
home including skilled nursing services, durable medical equipment
and home infusion drug therapies. CareCentrix recently introduced a
program, HomeSTAR™, that will help payers and providers reduce the
rising rate of hospital readmissions. The company has secured
contracts with leading health plans that have increased its
contracted revenue from $300 million
in 2008 to approximately $750 million
in 2011. CareCentrix is headquartered in East Hartford, Connecticut, and has operations
in Melville, New York;
Phoenix, Arizona; Tampa, Florida; Albuquerque, New Mexico and Overland Park, Kansas. CareCentrix is a
company of Water Street Healthcare Partners, a strategic private
equity firm focused exclusively on health care. For more
information about CareCentrix visit www.carecentrix.com.
SOURCE CareCentrix