Cincinnati Children’s teams with Humana Healthy Horizons in Ohio to expand HealthVine coordinated care

The two organizations aim to improve health outcomes  and reduce health costs for Medicaid members 

Thursday, August 01, 2024

Cincinnati Children’s HealthVine and Humana Healthy Horizons in Ohio have entered into an agreement to work together to improve health outcomes for thousands of children across eight counties in Southwest Ohio who are enrolled in Medicaid.

Cincinnati Children’s developed HealthVine, a pediatric accountable care organization, to work with community and hospital-based providers to coordinate care and support services for children and their families in Hamilton County as well as the counties of Adams, Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Highland and Warren.

This new agreement adds about 10,000 children to the 117,000 that HealthVine serves through several other Medicaid plans, for a total of over 127,000.

HealthVine, a network of pediatric and other care providers, supports optimal health and wellness outcomes. Additionally, HealthVine’s care managers support high-risk children and adolescents with significant social and medical complexities. HealthVine will help Cincinnati Children’s and Humana Healthy Horizons in Ohio identify effective clinical practices to reduce overall healthcare costs by prioritizing preventive care for children.

Cincinnati Children’s will collaborate with Humana Healthy Horizons in Ohio and the community to ensure vulnerable children receive the right care in the right setting. This includes partnerships with Federally Qualified Health Centers, health department clinics and community pediatricians for better care integration.

The network is designed to ensure children can access primary care as well as behavioral health services, said Jeff Anderson, MD, a pediatrician who is chief population health officer at Cincinnati Children’s. Anderson oversees HealthVine with Kim Kaas, vice president for Operations-Population Health at Cincinnati Children’s.

“HealthVine’s collaboration with Humana Healthy Horizons in Ohio is another step forward in ensuring that kids and families in Southwest Ohio receive excellent and personalized healthcare,” Anderson said. “Cincinnati Children’s specializes in coordinating the delivery of pediatric care and quality improvement as well as ground-breaking research to find cures and treatments. Humana Healthy Horizons in Ohio’s expertise in managing Medicaid care plans will help us meet the healthcare needs of children and families.”

“We are thrilled to partner with Cincinnati Children’s, as access to care is critical to achieving a more equitable healthcare ecosystem,” said Kathie Mancini, president, Humana Healthy Horizons in Ohio. “Through this new relationship, Humana Healthy Horizons can reach more members in Southwest Ohio and ensure the area’s children receive the best care possible.”

About Cincinnati Children’s HealthVine

Cincinnati Children’s ranks No. 1 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s 2023-24 listing of Best Children’s Hospitals, and HealthVine is fully integrated across the health system to provide care management, data, quality, finance and information services to guide better patient outcomes for children enrolled in a qualified Medicaid plan.

About Humana Healthy Horizons

Humana manages Medicaid benefits for nearly 1.3 million members nationally under the Humana Healthy Horizons™ brand, which reflects our expertise in managing complex populations, our commitment to creating solutions that lead to a better quality of life for our members, and our efforts to deliver human care that makes the healthcare experience easier, more personalized and more caring. During more than two decades of serving people with Medicaid, Humana and Humana Healthy Horizons have developed a wide range of capabilities to serve children, parents, childless adults, and beneficiaries that are aged, blind or disabled. We integrate physical health, behavioral health, pharmacy, long-term care, and social services for a whole-person approach to improve the health and well-being of our members and the communities we serve. Humana Healthy Horizons is a Medicaid Product offered by affiliates of Humana Inc.