Insurer Talks ‘Holistic’ Approach, Jobs
A nonprofit insurance and health care management organization will open a new call center in Indianapolis later this month, and its executive director says CareSource focuses on "all elements of life" when dealing with customers. Steve Smitherman says that philosophy extends to financial well-being as well. During an interview on Inside INdiana Business Television, Smitherman told Business of Health Reporter Barbara Lewis the organization offers job placement and skills development through its Job Connect program. The goal, he says, is to get participants off of subsidies and improve overall health.
Smitherman touts a 97 percent retention rate for the organization when it comes to customers who participate in Job Connect. He adds "those individuals who have started employment remain employed and the biggest thing that we’ve seen from it is it’s not only improving their financial health, but their overall health. Individuals in the program are much less likely to use the emergency room. They’re much more likely to get preventative services. They’re much more likely to adhere to the medication regimens, so what we’ve seen is an overall more-engaged consumer that’s in this program."
The organization also assists its customers in the search for needs ranging from affordable housing to childcare to driver’s licenses. In August, CareSource joined Managed Health Services in filling a would-be federal health care exchange gap when Indianapolis-based Anthem Inc. (NYSE: ANTM) announced it would pull out of the Obamacare marketplace in Indiana. People from Decatur, Jackson, Grant and Wayne counties who used the exchange for health coverage were in jeopardy of not having options next year on the federal marketplace.
The new call center is expected to create more than 150 jobs.