News

New network is among the first in the nation to combine in-home health visits with social determinants of health management for people in the Philadelphia region.

PHILADELPHIA — September 30, 2020 — Independence Blue Cross (Independence) and Signify Health announce the launch of CommunityLink™, a network of community-based organizations designed to break down the traditional barriers between social and clinical care and improve health outcomes for people who need help with non-medical services (such as help with food, housing, transportation, financial support, etc.) in the Philadelphia region.

Independence Registered Nurse Health Coaches, Signify Health social care coordinators, and local community-based organizations are now all connected via the CommunityLink network and are able to coordinate on behalf of Independence Medicare Advantage members and other people throughout the region for non-medical services. Starting in 2021, clinicians and other health care providers will be able to use CommunityLink to refer patients as well.

To date, the CommunityLink network consists of the following organizations: Project HOME (Helen Brown Community Center, Honickman Learning Center and Stephen Klein Wellness Center), Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance (MANNA), Penn Asian Senior Services (PASSi), Philadelphia Food Trust, Legal Clinic for the Disabled, Well Spouse and Greater Philadelphia YMCA. More organizations will join the network in the coming months.

Independence and Signify Health are now among the first in the nation to have designed a community-based network that combines management of social determinants of health with in-home health visits. The new community-based network expands Independence’s existing relationship with Signify Health, which sends clinicians into the homes of Independence Medicare Advantage members to assess overall health, facilitate the management of chronic conditions, and provide diagnostic and other clinical services.

“Creating a more equitable health care system includes acknowledging that health not only happens in the doctor’s office, but in our members’ homes and communities. That is why we are so pleased to work with Signify Health on developing CommunityLink,” said Daniel J. Hilferty, Independence Blue Cross President and CEO. “We will be able to identify obstacles our members may be facing and offer solutions that are available to them right where they live through this new network.”

By using Signify Health’s privacy-enabled collaboration platform, organizations can leverage CommunityLink to safely and securely collaborate, share, and track an individual’s whole-health needs longitudinally across different care settings to address their social determinants of health. This gives Independence—as well as other community-based organizations who may be referring into CommunityLink—the ability to track and measure an individual’s whole-health needs over time as they interact with multiple social and clinical providers and community organizations.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to work with Independence Blue Cross on making Philadelphia a more connected community,” said Kyle Armbrester, CEO of Signify Health. “Our goal is to create the opportunity for more healthy, happy days in the home by providing health care and social support services wherever and whenever they’re needed most. This initiative will help address health inequalities and gaps in care and lift up the quality of life for the individuals we are privileged to serve every day.”

Project HOME, which is committed to breaking the cycle of poverty and homelessness, played an integral role in the formation of the CommunityLink network.

“We’ve always had an approach of treating the whole person at our Stephen Klein Wellness Center and Healthcare Services,” said Project HOME President and Executive Director Sister Mary Scullion. “This collaboration with Independence Blue Cross and Signify Health allows us to reach even more people and empower the community to foster greater health and wellness.” 

About Independence Blue Cross
Independence Blue Cross is the leading health insurance organization in southeastern Pennsylvania. With our affiliates, we serve 8 million people nationwide. For more than 80 years, we have been enhancing the health and well-being of the people and communities we serve. We deliver innovative and competitively priced health care products and services; pioneer new ways to reward doctors, hospitals, and other health care professionals for coordinated, quality care; and support programs and events that promote wellness. To learn more, visit www.ibx.com. Connect with us on Facebook at facebook.com/ibx and on Twitter at @ibx. Independence Blue Cross is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

About Signify Health
Signify Health is a leading provider of technology-enabled healthcare solutions designed to keep people healthy and happy at home. We are accelerating the movement to value-based care by working with payers and providers to address both the financing and delivery of care, and sharing accountability for driving better outcomes for the individuals and families we serve. Our innovative episodes of care payment models and personalized health assessment and care coordination services enable us to close clinical and social care gaps, manage risk and drive a better experience for millions of people each year. Applying powerful analytics and clinical expertise, we support individuals’ health journeys from the acute care facility to the ideal next site of care and all the way to a place of residence, helping people get home sooner and stay there longer. We support care needs anywhere in the U.S. through our high-performance provider and community networks – including the nation’s largest mobile field-based network of doctors and nurse practitioners trained and ready for in-home visits. For more information on how we are taking health homeward, visit us at signifyhealth.com.

CommunityLink and its accompanying logo are trademarks of Independence Blue Cross, LLC.

Contact:
Diana Quattrone, Independence Blue Cross
Diana.Quattrone@ibx.com
215-815-7828

Lynn Shepherd, Signify Health
lshepherd@signifyhealth.com
610-613-7263