CVS Health creates new health platform
Woonsocket, R.I.-based CVS Health has devised its first in a series of business programs with an enhanced focus on addressing social determinants of health to help consumers improve their health outside of a clinical setting.
According to the company, approximately 60% of a person’s life expectancy is influenced by their everyday activities outside of the doctor’s office – our individual behaviors, as well as social and environmental factors.
"Out of about 6,000 waking hours in a year, most people only spend a handful in a doctor's office or hospital - you spend the vast majority of your time in your community," said Karen S. Lynch, executive vice president, CVS Health and president, Aetna. "CVS Health is a part of nearly 10,000 communities across the country, so by going beyond our significant philanthropic efforts and addressing social determinants of health through the products and programs our company develops, we have an unprecedented opportunity to improve the health of individuals and communities across America."
As part of this effort, CVS Health will collaborate with Unite Us, a social care coordination platform, to help some of Aetna's most vulnerable Medicaid and Dual eligible members more easily access social services within their community. Selected Aetna members will be able to use Unite Us' aggregated network of social care providers, which they can find on their own through a proprietary technology resource developed by Unite Us. Members can also be referred by a community health provider or Aetna nurse case managers who will receive information through this platform. The two companies are also exploring integration through various CVS Health retail assets.
The platform also includes the investments being made at the community level as part of the recently announced Building Healthier Communities initiative, which is a $100 million commitment being funded over five years by CVS Health and the CVS Health and Aetna Foundations intended to make community health and wellness central to the company's corporate social responsibility platform – Better Health, Better Community, Better World.
CVS Health and Unite Us will make these programs and services available to Aetna Medicaid members in Louisville, Kentucky during the second half of the year. During this same time, the programs and services will also be available to Aetna's Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plan members (DSNP - people eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare) in Tampa, Florida and Southeastern Louisiana.