PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Medica—a leading regional health plan headquartered in Minneapolis with more than 1.6 million members in the Upper Midwest of the United States—recently released the results of a three-year study on the impact that their coaching program had on members’ health and wellness. Medica’s program includes two solutions from Insignia Health®—the Patient Activation Measure® (PAM®) and Flourish™. The study, held by an independent third party, evaluated 1,051 participants over three and a half years, and found improvements in clinical outcomes, savings in costs, and an increase in member satisfaction. In addition, members’ patient activation levels increased.
Healthier Members
One of the most significant results of the study was a reduction of HbA1c levels in diabetes patients of 35 percent. In addition, participants experienced marked improvement in common clinical measures, including weight and blood pressure. On average, program participants showed a 6 percent reduction in weight (11.6 pounds per participant) and a 7 percent improvement in body mass index. Healthier lifestyles also were noted among program participants. Contributing factors include better nutrition, increased physical activity and a 14.6 percent increase in participants’ perception of their own physical health and an 18.7 percent improvement in their perception of their own emotional health.
"Medica believes that people have a tremendous ability to improve and maintain their health when supported through a coaching relationship to identify their own goals and take action to achieve them,” said Kevin Ronneberg, M.D., Medica medical director for health management. “Our health coaching program is an effective—and increasingly popular—tool for helping Medica members reach their goals and ultimately lead healthier lives.”
Medica’s health and wellness program offers a wide variety of personalized tools and resources to help participants make changes to improve their health with the support of health coaches. More than a year ago, Insignia worked with Medica to incorporate PAM into their existing health assessment, creating Medica’s Personalized Activation Measure®, and into Medica’s value-based program, My Health Rewards by MedicaSM. At the same time, Insignia integrated Flourish into Medica’s member website.
Flourish includes more than 260 health topics, ranging from diabetes to heart disease, and asthma to diet and exercise, each tailored to engage the individual and encourage movement to higher levels of activation. PAM measures an individual’s knowledge, skills and confidence for managing their health and healthcare, assigning an activation level to each participant, which provides insight into their attitudes and behaviors around their health. Medica administers PAM upon program initiation, so Medica health and wellness coaches can personalize the program for each participant based on their activation level. PAM is administered again at program completion to measure program effectiveness. The results showed a 30 percent improvement in PAM scores for those who go through the program. “PAM is a valuable tool in determining where our patients are, so we can tailor our coaching to their needs, as well as determining how far they’ve come once they’ve completed the program,” said Ronneberg. “We know from the extensive research of PAM that higher activation scores drive improved self-management, better health and reduced healthcare utilization.”
Lower Costs
Reductions in costs were observed in inpatient, outpatient and total costs for program participants. Inpatient costs showed the most marked change, followed by outpatient costs and emergency room use. Reductions across these services were partially offset by increases in primary physician visits and medication use as expected with increasing activation. Overall, program participants showed a cost savings of $19 to $22 per member per month, compared with the study control group.
Satisfied Members
Participating members are enthusiastic about their experience with the program. Ninety-six percent reported overall satisfaction with the program and 93 percent would recommend it to someone else. Importantly, 91 percent of participants reported that the program helped them change behaviors and meet individual health goals. Nearly an equal number—90 percent—said as a result of the program they are more confident in managing their own health, while 95 percent said they are thinking differently about how they manage their health and lifestyle behaviors.
About Insignia Health
Insignia Health, founded through health innovations developed at the University of Oregon, helps individuals become more active and successful self-managers of their health. This journey is anchored by the Patient Activation Measure® assessment and a wealth of insight gained through nearly a decade of worldwide consumer health activation research. This empirical insight backs Insignia’s proven activation model, coaching resources and consumer health programs that are being using today by more than 70 leading organizations in their programs for disease and case management, wellness, medication adherence, the patient centered medical home and care transitions. More information can be found at www.insigniahealth.com or by writing to info@insigniahealth.com.
About Medica
Medica is a health insurance company headquartered in Minneapolis and active in the Upper Midwest. With nearly 1.67 million members, the non-profit company provides health care coverage in the employer, individual, Medicaid, Medicare and Medicare Part D markets in Minnesota and a growing number of counties in North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Medica also offers national network coverage to employers who also have employees outside the Medica regional network.
Medica has the highest accreditation status, Excellent, from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA®) for its Minnesota Medicaid HMO plans and commercial health plans in Minnesota and North Dakota. Medica’s vision is to become the community’s health plan of choice, trusted for its integrity, respected for its service, and admired for its commitment to innovation and efficiency.