COMMUNITY HEALTH CARE, INC., AND AETNA BETTER HEALTH OF ILLINOIS PARTNER TO TACKLE MENTAL HEALTH

New integrated behavioral health and primary care program will address patient needs with real-time assessments and interventions

 

Moline, IL (September 15, 2021) - Community Health Care, Inc., announced today it received a $250,000 grant award from Aetna Better Health of Illinois, the Medicaid managed care business of Aetna®, a CVS Health company (NYSE: CVS), to develop an integrated behavioral health and primary care program that will address the whole person, enhance access and create collaborative, coordinated care.

 

Community Health Care’s partnership with Aetna Better Health of Illinois will allow it to further develop services and facilitate greater access to its existing integrated program to meet the needs of Illinois-based Aetna patients by providing targeted, real-time behavioral health assessments and interventions within the primary care setting.

 

“Mental health and physical health can not be separated. Both play an important role in a patient’s ability to live a full and healthy life. Aetna’s investment in Community Health Care, Inc. will help meet our goals of preventing chronic mental health illness, earlier detection of potential diagnosis and implementing treatment options to manage chronic mental health conditions and overcome addiction. We’re proud to partner with Aetna and the patients we serve,” Tom Bowman, CEO of Community Health Care, stated.

 

“This initiative supports our efforts to help bridge the gap in care that patients with behavioral health needs commonly encounter,” Kim Foltz, CEO of Aetna Better Health of Illinois, said. “Through this investment, we are ensuring that care is better coordinated and more accessible so patients can focus on what truly matters – their health.”

 

This partnership looks to directly improve the wellbeing of Community Health Care’s patients and those in its service community by increasing the number of patients that are screened for depression; have follow-up plans; and receive routine follow-up assessment for depression. Moreover, the new initiative aims to refer more substance abuse patients to a registered nurse care manager to discuss treatment options and care coordination; decrease the number of emergency department visits and hospital admissions for behavioral health related issues; and increase the number of visits for both mental health needs and chronic or preventive primary medical care needs by behavioral health patients.

 

Community Health Care, Inc. services more than 6,400 patients that are at or below the poverty line. More than 3,500 patients do not have health insurance and 55% percent identified themselves with a minority group.

Aetna Better Health of Illinois offers quality, affordable health care to individuals through the State's HealthChoice Illinois Medicaid program. The health plan serves nearly 400,000 members in 102 counties.

 

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About Community Health Care, Inc.

Founded as a Federally Qualified Health Center in 1975, CHC provides primary medical, dental, and behavioral health care for more than 42,000 individual patients. With ten clinic locations throughout Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois, CHC is one of the largest outpatient healthcare systems in the region. CHC is designated as a Patient-Centered Medical Home and has received the HRSA Health Center Quality Leader Award. Community Health Care is committed to making primary healthcare accessible to all those in need. For more information on the Community Health Care, Inc. visit http://www.chcqca.org.

 

About Aetna Medicaid
Aetna Medicaid Administrators LLC (Aetna Medicaid), a CVS Health company, has over 30 years of experience managing the care of the most medically vulnerable, using innovative approaches and a local presence in each market to achieve both successful health care results and effective cost outcomes. Aetna Medicaid has particular expertise serving high-need Medicaid members, including those who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare. Currently, Aetna Medicaid owns and/or administers Medicaid managed health care plans under the names of Aetna Better Health and other affiliate names. Together, these plans serve approximately 2.8 million people in 16 states, including Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Texas. For more information, see www.aetnabetterhealth.com.