With New Clinical Resources, Belle Will Deliver Additional Value to Medicare Advantage Plans, ACOs and Original Medicare Members with a Home-Based, Foot Forward Approach to Chronic Care Management

NASHVILLE, Tenn.: Building on insights from more than a quarter of a million in-home visits with medically complex individuals, Belle has expanded its proven model for delivering home-based, foot-forward chronic care management.

In addition to strengthening the company’s clinical processes and technology infrastructure, Belle has also deepened its virtual clinical team by integrating physicians and nurses with its roster of case managers and nail technicians, who are certified as community health workers (CHWs).

Belle also named Dr. Christian Wilson as medical director, a new role for the organization. Dr. Wilson has served as a resident physician with New York-Presbyterian Hospital, a management consultant with Boston Consulting Group and as an assistant professor of medicine with Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center. He has also spent time as a traveling hospitalist. Dr. Wilson will be responsible for overseeing the delivery of clinical support Belle provides remotely via telehealth.

With the upgrades to core capabilities, Belle now provides comprehensive chronic care management services, including annual wellness visits, regular check-ins with clinicians, creation and maintenance of care plans and referrals to care. These investments also allow Belle to function as a provider, enabling additional flexibility in the delivery of its services to Medicare Advantage plans and ACOs. It also creates the opportunity for Belle to care for Original Medicare members, a population that previously was not eligible for Belle’s services. In total, approximately 50 million individuals served by Medicare are managing multiple chronic diseases.

These advancements build on a foundational model that has created significant value for Medicare Advantage clients. Through rigorous actuarial analysis, Belle has demonstrated a $1,320 per enrolled member per year reduction in total cost of care, while reducing member churn by an average of 25%. Additional value for clients includes significant improvement in completion of annual wellness visits, increased accuracy of coding for risk adjustment and enhanced engagement with other health plan resources and programs. While initially focused on Medicare Advantage populations, Belle’s expanded model offers meaningful opportunities for other client types, including ACOs.

“The feet have proven to be the greatest door opener of all time,” said Armand Lauzon, founder and CEO of Belle. “Between 40-60 percent of targeted members will allow our team into their homes, and then we are able to sustain engagement over time because of the joy our experience creates.”

Not only does Belle’s foot-forward model create unprecedented opportunities for engagement, but it also is a clinically sound strategy for chronic care management. The feet are a crystal ball for future health. They offer predictive insight to gauge health risks and anticipate avoidable complications, specifically for diseases such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, vascular disease and neuropathy.

“The feet are the farthest body part from the heart, so they serve as an early warning system,” Dr. Wilson explained. “They can tell you what is going on in the rest of the body and can help predict and prevent future health issues.”

Belle’s model creates an initial bond with members through delivery of in-home foot care (medical pedicures). For medically complex individuals, foot care is a clinical need that is viewed as a practical and highly valued service.

Once individuals are engaged and trust is established with the care team, Belle is able to fully assess and address everything that is affecting them, including clinical needs (respiratory, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular,) cognitive needs and social determinants of health (SDoH). Following the first foot care visit, the company’s CHWs facilitate dynamic “whole health” assessments and assist in telehealth appointments with the virtual clinical team.

Belle also deploys proprietary technology, including a mobile app that empowers CHWs to assess and address an individual’s needs and an AI-driven predictive model that leverages a database of 2.5 million foot photos to forecast potential complications that might arise.

“We believe we are making a giant leap forward in the management of chronic conditions,” said Dr. Eli Goldberg, VP of data and innovation for Belle. “We have cracked the code on engagement while also developing a model that is highly effective in driving clinical and financial outcomes. We are excited for the next chapter in our evolution and the impact we can have in partnership with our clients.”

About Belle

Belle delivers home-based, foot-forward care management services that generate incredible business and human value for medically complex and hard to reach populations. Belle is the largest provider of its kind, serving ACO and health plan clients nationwide with a focus on Medicare Advantage populations. The company’s solution includes medical pedicures, dynamic whole-health assessments, assisted telehealth visits with Belle’s virtual clinical team, creation and maintenance of care plans and referrals to care.

Belle’s innovative model for chronic care management reduces total cost of care, improves quality, delights and retains members and drives broader healthcare engagement with guaranteed clinical and financial outcomes. On average, Belle generates program ROIs ranging from 2x-4x. Learn more at bellecares.com.

Fonte: Business Wire