Carallel in Modern Healthcare: Leading health plans prioritize caregiver support amid calls to expand home care

A recent article in Modern Healthcare emphasizes the vital role of support for unpaid family caregivers as Congress debates extending the hospital care at home waiver. The article featured Carallel’s partnership with Independence Blue Cross in southeastern Pennsylvania as a prime example of how leading Medicare Advantage plans are offering support to unpaid family caregivers after plan members are discharged from a hospital or skilled nursing facility.

Read the full article in Modern Healthcare (paywall).

Key Takeaways:

• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Acute Hospital Care at Home waiver, set to expire in December, allows eligible patients to receive in-home, acute-level care from nurses or paramedics, as well as via virtual visits and remote patient monitoring. The programs authorized under the waiver are a boon for providers facing workforce shortages and patients who prefer to stay close to home.
• Under the waiver, patients can receive assistance with activities of daily living, including meal preparation, if family caregivers cannot provide this support. However, industry groups say the lack of standardized screening and support built into hospital care at home programs for caregivers often leaves a disproportionate burden on their shoulders.
• About a dozen Medicare Advantage plans, including Independence Blue Cross, are partnering with Carallel to support, guide and assist family caregivers after members return home from the hospital. Independence Blue Cross expanded this benefit to all plan members in 2024.

“We are a pretty efficient way for people to address a pretty high scale need,” Carallel President and CEO Shara Cohen told Modern Healthcare. “[In a few years], I don’t think you are going to find a plan that doesn’t have some sort of caregiver strategy.”

Learn more about Carallel’s partnership with Independence Blue Cross here.

About Carallel

Carallel uses personal connection, expert guidance and digital tools to identify and empower caregivers so they can confidently manage the twists and turns of caregiving. Carallel partners with healthcare organizations aiming to achieve better outcomes and employers striving to retain employees and improve life/work balance. The company’s proven, holistic approach to caregiver support resonates with caregivers, earning Carallel an overall Customer Satisfaction Score of 96% and a Net Promoter Score of 80. In 2024, Carallel received the Healthcare Insurance Innovation Award from the MedTech Breakthrough Awards Program.