Improved access to senior-focused primary care can go a long way toward mitigating racial and socio-economic disparities in health care, a recently published study has found.
The study, published in Health Affairs, was put together by researchers from Humana Healthcare Research and Harvard University.
While the focus of the study was on senior-focused primary care specifically, it has broader implications that home medical equipment (HME) industry professionals should keep in mind.
Dr. Vivek Garg, CenterWell Senior Primary Care chief medical officer and co-author on the study, spoke with HME Business about some of those key takeaways.
“We’re seeking to ensure that patients see specialists, and what we often find is that these specialist groups are being very progressive in how they address the full spectrum of needs for their senior patients,” Garg explained.
So, in theory, that could lead to better utilization of HME.
Humana (NYSE: HUM) is one of the biggest health insurers in the nation. In addition to its Medicare Advantage (MA) business, the company has actively invested in its health-care services portfolio, which has CenterWell Senior Primary Care and CenterWell Home Health at its core.
Published in Health Affairs, Humana’s study, in collaboration with Harvard University, analyzed data from over 462,000 MA beneficiaries. The results demonstrated that seniors in senior-focused primary care organizations had 17% more primary care visits compared to those in traditional primary care settings.
“Access is a major part of what any patient needs, especially seniors, so that they can be seen,” Garg said. “There’s also a frequency of care that’s important for maintaining health, understanding issues, and working with the senior so that they can get on the right trajectory.”
For Black and low-income beneficiaries, the numbers were even more substantial, with Black patients experiencing 39% more primary care visits, while low-income beneficiaries had 21% more visits than their counterparts in traditional primary care settings.
These findings are particularly important in reducing health disparities, Garg said.
“I think the key takeaways from the study are how it looks at Black seniors and their primary care access, engagement, quality and health outcomes, as well as subsidy-eligible seniors in Los Angeles,” he said. “We see an even greater magnitude of impact on primary care access and engagement. We look at quality metrics, like whether people are getting their cancer screenings, if their blood pressure or diabetes is under control, and their need for the ER or hospital care downstream.”
In 2021, Humana launched CenterWell Senior Primary Care. Currently, CenterWell operates over 300 clinics in 15 states, offering comprehensive, high-access, senior-focused primary care.
“Focusing on seniors in a value-based, team-oriented care model means that we can spend more time with patients, understanding the many social and other factors that play a role in overall health,” Reneé Buckingham, president of Humana’s senior-focused primary care organization, said in a statement. “It’s that deep knowledge of our patients that drives these better outcomes.”
Implications for HME providers
Home-based care and addressing the needs of seniors in their homes is a huge part of the Humana philosophy, Garg added.
“In any group like ours, I think that [home-based care] is a great next stage opportunity for us,” he said. “Within our own primary care footprint at CenterWell Senior Primary Care, we have some places where teams care for patients in their homes, because that’s where they need it or prefer it. Maybe they are frail post-hospitalization or homebound, and we then coordinate with medical supply and other practitioners, home health teams, and DME (durable medical equipment) supply organizations, to bring it all together.”
Care and service providers have to overcome challenge after challenge when they work separately in a disjointed health-care system. As a result, they often miss opportunities to coordinate care for their patients, Garg said.
“I also think it improves the overall experience, coordination and outcomes for people [by connecting to the home-based needs of patients],” he said. “This likely involves ensuring that people get what they need to age independently in place, and often, this reaches a point where people require more services in their homes.”
