Senior Care Options: Effective, Economical, Overlooked

So why are only about 12 percent of the state's 110,000 eligible seniors are enrolled?

"It's one of the best kept secrets," says Bob Master, CEO of Commonhealth Care Alliance, which runs one of the most effective Senior Care Options programs (highlighted by CommonHealth in earlier posts).

To try to get the secret out, Dr. Master, along with representatives from the state's three other Senior Care Options plans (which in some regions, compete for patients) will meet at the State House with key legislators to raise awareness and request more support from the Patrick administration.

"The state can do a lot more to actively promote this, and provide information and education," Dr. Master says. "Collectively, these programs improve care, save money and take a more rational approach to health care delivery." He added: "You don't have a lot of options with a population like this that costs the state so much money."

He said the state could, for instance, create enrollment brokers to help inform seniors about this option. "We all have somewhat different approaches," he said. "But collectively, a case can be made that this is certainly better than the current fee-for-service model."

The meet-up will happen on Monday, October 18th from 2:00-3:00pm at Nurses Hall in the State House with the four groups: Commonwealth Care Alliance, NaviCare (Fallon Community Health Plan), Senior Whole Health and Evercare.