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THE CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES EXTENDS LIFEMASTERS DEMONSTRATION PROJECT IN FLORIDA IRVINE, Calif., February 20, 2008 – LifeMasters Supported SelfCare, Inc., a national provider of health improvement services, announced that it has received an extension from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of its disease management demonstration project in Florida. The project, which aims to measure the effectiveness of a disease management program in a Medicare fee-for-service population, focuses on beneficiaries who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid and who have congestive heart failure (CHF) or any combination of CHF, diabetes and/or coronary heart disease. “The program has demonstrated cost effectiveness to Medicare as currently designed. LifeMasters’ preliminary analysis of the program data has demonstrated that we have also improved clinical outcomes for what is typically a very difficult to manage population. This extension allows us to continue to provide these much-needed services to beneficiaries in Florida while continuing to work collaboratively with CMS to continuously improve our interventions,” said Christobel Selecky, CEO of LifeMasters. A unique aspect of the project is the company’s holistic approach to ensure a beneficiary’s life situation is addressed as well as their health status. LifeMasters engages one-on-one with each participant to “meet them where they are” to ensure the best possible outcomes. While telephonic outreach is often used, the program also provides dedicated community-based nurses and social workers who meet with some of the beneficiaries with more complex needs in their homes to help them learn how to better manage their health. “The nurses, whether in the home or on the phone, recognize that for some participants, dealing with underlying life issues can be as important as, if not more important than, addressing medical problems,” said Selecky. “While helping our participants improve their self-care skills is a primary goal of the program, our nurses have the training and resources to identify those participants that have difficulty fulfilling basic needs such as food, shelter, safety and security and link them up with community resources to remove those issues as barriers to success.” The contract extension was effective January 2008. Medicare determines eligibility and who may participate in the program using a randomized control design. The program is provided in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Marion, Volusia, Seminole, and Alachua for those beneficiaries who are eligible to participate and is offered as part of the beneficiaries’ existing healthcare coverage at no additional cost. About LifeMasters Supported SelfCare, Inc. Founded in 1994 by a physician, LifeMasters works with some of the nation’s leading health plans, employers, retirement systems and governmental organizations, including Aetna, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, and Presbyterian Health Services in New Mexico. More information about LifeMasters can be found at www.lifemasters.com or by calling 1-800-777-1307. Note to Editors: Interviews with a program participant and LifeMasters nurse are available upon request. Please contact Barbara Gideon at 650-829-5287 or bgideon@lifemasters.com |
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