FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 5, 2014
Contact:
Mike Opat, Hennepin County Board chair, 612-348-7881
Jennifer DeCubellis, Hennepin County assistant administrator for health, 612-596-9416
Maria Elena Baca, Public Affairs, 612-348-7865
News release
Hennepin County and its partners are demonstrating that innovations in health care can save money and improve the health of some of the region's most complex and expensive patients.
U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison and Minnesota Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson will join county leaders in a discussion of Hennepin Health, a health program that integrates health care and social services to reduce barriers to care for adults who also deal with poverty, often combined with mental and chemical health challenges, chronic illness and homelessness.
The event, Hennepin County Health Innovation Highlights, will take place today, from 12:30 to 3 p.m., at NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center, 1313 Penn Avenue North, Minneapolis. The media are welcome to attend this invitation-only event, which will include program descriptions from Hennepin Health administrators and testimonials from members whose lives have been changed by the program. Both also will be available for interview after the event.
The program has attracted significant national attention, from national health policy and research organizations, health care provider organizations, federal, state and local governments and others who are interested in decreasing health costs and improving outcomes.
Hennepin Health is a partnership between Metropolitan Health Plan, Hennepin County Medical Center, NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center and Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health.
“I am a firm believer that there are enough dollars invested in health care," said Jennifer DeCubellis, the county's assistant administrator for health. "What makes the biggest difference is how we leverage those dollars to ensure a continuum of services for members and that we are getting the outcomes we want to help our residents experience the best health possible.”
The program serves 8,800 adults with no dependent children, with incomes at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, who are not certified as disabled. Each member is matched with a team of coordinated care providers that assesses the member’s needs, and works across disciplines to see that those needs are filled.
The resulting holistic care has reduced costs by reducing use of crisis care and increasing use of primary care, while improving the quality of care.
From 2012 to 2013:
- Members’ use of the emergency room declined by more than 9 percent.
- Primary care engagement increased by 2.5 percent.
- Inpatient hospital admissions declined by 3.2 percent.
- The percentage of members receiving “optimal care,” as defined by Minnesota Community Measurement, increased for members with diabetes, vascular conditions and asthma.
- Members’ satisfaction with the care they received improved from 85 percent to 88 percent.
During that time, Hennepin Health also worked closely with 112 medically complex members who were also homeless, to provide supportive housing. Comparing the time periods before and after the members were housed:
- Use of the emergency department decreased by 55 percent; associated costs declined by 52.3 percent
- Members in housing were admitted to the hospital 28.8 percent less than before they were housed; associated costs went down 72 percent
The health plan’s risk-sharing funding structure means that cost savings can be rolled back into improvements in patient care. Those reinvestments include vocational services to place members in jobs, providing interim housing for high-risk patients and increasing care coordination staff to serve more members inside the health care system, as well as in the community.
"We’ve found that for some complex patients, medical solutions need to be blended with social, behavioral and human services in order to be effective," said Hennepin County Board Chairman Mike Opat. "Locally, the approach has resulted in improved care at a lower long term cost. This is a model that should be replicated nationally. Hennepin Health patients are facing problems that are not unique to Hennepin County or Minnesota."
For more information about the program, visit www.hennepin.us/healthcare.
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Look for more news on the Hennepin County website at www.hennepin.us/news.
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