A New York City-based provider of long-term home health care for Medicaid and Medicare patients soon will expand its service to Westchester County and Long Island.
Starting May 1, VNSNY CHOICE, an affiliate of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York, the nation”™s largest not-for-profit home health care agency, will offer its managed long-term care health plans in Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk counties. Â The customized health coverage, which uses a nurse-led team approach to coordinated care, serves senior citizens and persons with multiple chronic illnesses or disabilities who want to remain at home rather than move to a nursing home.
New state regulations due to take effect this summer require all Medicaid beneficiaries receiving home and community-based care services for more than 120 days to enroll in a managed long-term care health plan. The change is designed to manage state health care costs more efficiently and also provide better care for a growing population with increasing medical needs.
VNSNY Choice officials said the new Medicaid regulations most affect persons without a regular primary care physician or “medical home” who do not get regular medical exams, patients who frequently visit a hospital emergency room when their conditions become life-threatening or serious, and those who manage multiple medications prescribed from a number of physicians. The agency’s health plans were designed to manage the complex health needs of that population.
Christopher Palmieri, 37-year-old president of VNSNY Choice Health Plans and a Yorktown Heights resident, in a statement  called the agency he leads “a safety net for a growing population that is at risk for falling through the cracks in our health care system. Our mission has always been to help people take responsibility for their own health, while providing the care and assistance they need to live with dignity in the homes and communities that sustain them.”
Plan members are assigned a personal nurse care manager who coordinates all aspects of patient care and is in constant communication with the member”™s primary care physician and other health specialists. A team of health professionals, from social workers and nutritionists to physical therapists, is at each member”™s disposal according to doctor”™s orders. The team develops a comprehensive plan of care.
