NEW YORK, Oct. 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Healthy Alliance IPA, an affiliate of Alliance for Better Health, and Unite Us, a technology company connecting health and social care services, today announced they are expanding the reach and coordination of critical social services across the entire state of New York. This growing partnership will convene regional community leaders and thousands of local community-based organizations across the state to ensure all New Yorkers have access to a comprehensive, coordinated social care service network.
Healthy Alliance IPA will continue providing hands-on support to organizations across New York to encourage the adoption and successful use of Unite Us’ technology, which makes it easy to connect people in-need to social services, such as healthy food, benefits counseling, housing, and workforce development. With its expertise in developing successful social determinants of health (SDoH) programs with managed care plans in the Capital Region, Healthy Alliance IPA will also leverage the technology to connect and grow existing social care networks, with the objective of contracting with New York managed care plans. In addition, Healthy Alliance IPA is committed to identifying new entry points of care and screening opportunities for SDoH with this technology, expanding the reach and awareness of these publicly available services.
This partnership aligns with recent calls-to-action at the state and federal level, including the New York State Department of Health proposal submitted to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in August 2021, which calls for a $17 billion, five-year program designed to address health disparities and systemic health care delivery issues underscored by COVID-19. Healthy Alliance IPA was referenced in the concept paper as a successful example of an emerging Social Determinants of Health Network (SDHN), taking a holistic approach to addressing the full spectrum of a region’s social care needs.
“Social needs have a direct and tangible impact on health. By mobilizing social care service networks across one platform, we are able to connect people to SDoH services across a broad geography, addressing the unique social needs of every New Yorker,” said Erica Coletti, CEO, Healthy Alliance IPA. “Through the great work being done across social care providers to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities, we will see improved health and reduced costs for our state. We’re thrilled to expand our partnership with Unite Us. Together, we will continue to break down barriers between medical and social care providers.”
This initiative is the next phase of a successful, multi-year partnership between Healthy Alliance IPA and Unite Us to improve health by addressing social needs. Since 2018, Healthy Alliance IPA’s network of medical, social, and behavioral health providers, Healthy Together, has leveraged Unite Us to send and receive SDoH referrals and track outcomes. Today, the growing network of over 500 organizations provides more than 1,000 programs and services to 22 counties across New York’s Capital, Central, and Northern Regions. Paired with on-the-ground referral navigation, network health, and partner performance teams, Healthy Alliance IPA and their regional counterparts ensure individuals are rapidly connected to services, community leaders are engaged, and organizations are supported throughout the process.
“New York is our home and has been since the beginning, so we could not be more excited to expand our partnership with Healthy Alliance IPA to ensure more New Yorkers across the entire state have access to the services they need,” said Dan Brillman, Co-Founder and CEO of Unite Us. “With our recent NowPow acquisition and their deep relationships and commitments in New York City, we are now in a position to make the greatest impact across the state.”
Unite Us, the nation’s leading technology solution connecting health and social care, has been making it easy for New York service providers to securely coordinate the complete care journey of each community member since 2013. Community members can request help and/or be screened for social needs by their local providers or community partners and be connected to a robust network of social care providers in minutes. By connecting clinical, behavioral, and social care providers in real-time, the Unite Us Platform enables greater collaboration and accountability to ensure everyone’s needs are met and outcomes are tracked at-scale.
About Healthy Alliance IPA
Healthy Alliance IPA, one of the first IPAs in the region focused entirely on social determinants of health, collaborates with community partners to address social needs―food insecurity, housing assistance, benefits navigation―before they turn into costly medical problems. Established in 2015, Healthy Alliance IPA’s affiliate, Alliance for Better Health (Alliance), engages medical, behavioral, and social service providers in developing innovative solutions to promote the health of people and communities, with a goal of transforming the care delivery system into one that incentivizes health and prevention. With more than 100 participating organizations across a six-county area in New York's Tech Valley and Capital Region, and its extended Healthy Together Network participants, Healthy Alliance IPA prioritizes building health equity for all.
About Unite Us
Unite Us is a technology company that builds coordinated care networks of health and social service providers. With Unite Us, providers across sectors can send and receive secure electronic referrals, track every person’s total health journey, and report on tangible outcomes across a full range of services in a centralized, cohesive, and collaborative ecosystem. Unite Us’ dedicated team builds authentic, lasting partnerships with local organizations to ensure their networks have a solid foundation, launch successfully, and continue to grow and thrive. This HITRUST certified social care infrastructure helps communities transform their ability to work together and measure impact at scale. Follow Unite Us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Media Contacts
LaunchSquad for Alliance for Better Health
alliance@launchsquad.com
NextPR for Unite Us
uniteus@nextPR.com
