Report Finds Value-Based Care Model Leads to Significant Cost Savings, Health Gains for Seniors in Six States

Contact:
Jim Brown
305-310-7214
james.brown@chenmed.com

Miami (September 26, 2017) – A new report released today by ChenMed, an innovative senior health care provider, finds that seniors treated with a concierge-style, value-based health care model gain major improvements in their health, leading to an overall reduction in costs. These findings were also detailed in The American Journal of Managed Care blog today.

ChenMed examined patient results from 37 of its senior medical centers across six states and found its approach resulted in a deep cut in the number of emergency room visits, hospital admissions, and in-patient days for those they treated.

The report also details how ChenMed delivers its innovative value-based care model to the low- to moderate-income seniors managing multiple chronic conditions that it serves. Two critical elements of ChenMed’s model are smaller panel sizes and more face-time with patients.

“At ChenMed, we believe we do not have to sacrifice quality to reduce health care costs, even for the neediest patients with the costliest conditions,” said ChenMed CEO Dr. Christopher Chen. “We deliver concierge-style care to the patients who need it most, and that attention and level of service ultimately gets patients healthy and keeps them that way, reducing expensive visits to the hospital.”

The report, “Concierge Care for Low-Income Seniors: How High-Touch Care Improves Outcomes and Reduces Costs,” finds that ChenMed doctors average 189 minutes face-to-face with each patient annually – more than nine times the national average. Each ChenMed doctor’s patient panel size is less than one-fifth the size of the national average – 450 patients per physician, rather than the average of 2,300 patients.

By spending more time with patients, ChenMed doctors build valuable relationships and provide highly coordinated care that reduces ER and hospital visits. ChenMed rates of ER visits are 33.6 percent lower than the national average among Medicare beneficiaries. ChenMed patients also average 28 percent fewer hospital admissions and 25 percent fewer in-patient days than the average Medicare beneficiary.

Since 2010, ChenMed has provided value-based care – first with low-income seniors in Miami and now in practices across ten markets in six states – by operating as a full-risk Medicare Advantage (MA) provider. In this arrangement, MA plans provide a set amount per patient for overall health care costs.

MA providers, like ChenMed, are rewarded for keeping patients as healthy as possible to avoid costly ER visits, hospital admissions, and complications from their chronic conditions. ChenMed does this by providing more access to care, more convenience in accessing it, and more preventive services. These features include complimentary transportation to their centers, on-site specialists and medication dispensing, and even Tai Chi and line dancing classes.

The report draws on the vast amount of data collected by the ChenMed EHR system, customized for its physicians, and claims data, to quantify how ChenMed’s level of care differs from the average primary care experience and to determine the effect of such care on health outcomes. The report explores data across 37 ChenMed centers in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Virginia.

“We are gratified that our innovative efforts have proven to help more seniors have more healthy days,” said Dr. Chen. “We look forward to continuing these improvements to better the lives of more patients and provide a model the rest of the health care system can strive to emulate.”

About ChenMed

For seniors most in need of care, high-quality health care is too often beyond reach. ChenMed was founded to bring concierge-style medicine – and better health outcomes – to the neediest populations. ChenMed serves seniors with low-to-moderate incomes, most managing multiple chronic conditions, in ten U.S. markets through more than 40 senior medical centers.

ChenMed’s goal is to improve health outcomes and create value for patients, physicians, and the health care system. To do that, ChenMed relies on innovative technology and a talented and resourceful team of providers.

Founded by Dr. James Chen, a Taiwanese immigrant and cancer survivor, the company sees patients enrolled in Medicare Advantage in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Virginia – and is rapidly growing.