Lifespark and UCare Announce Innovative Partnership to Deliver on Population Well-Being for Seniors

Partnership Driving Quadruple Aim: Delivering Superior Patient Experience, Improving Quality and Community Health Outcomes, Creating Meaningful Workforce Experience and Reducing Total Cost of Care

News provided by

Lifespark

Oct 12, 2021, 07:30 ET

MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Lifespark, leader in whole-person senior services, announced today that UCare, the largest Medicare Advantage provider in Minnesota, has strategically invested in Lifespark's industry leading population health operating system and technology platform to serve Minnesota seniors holistically. Lifespark's home and community-based delivery system is powered by proprietary technology that combines Electronic Medical Records (EMR), social drivers of health (SDoH), all direct care and service interactions, as well as historical claims data to create a deep person-centered, trusting relationship with seniors and their families.

According to Joel Theisen, BSN, founder and CEO of Lifespark, the technology creates improved on-demand access for all seniors and over-time, builds into a comprehensive set of powerful insights and analytics. This intelligence will guide the service delivery from the current low-value, acute, reactive care mindset, to predictive and prescriptive life-long solutions that empower seniors to Age Magnificently.

The Minnesota State Demographic Center anticipates the total number of adults 65+ (including aging Baby Boomers) to double between 2010 and 2030. By 2030, more than 1 in 5 Minnesotans will be 65 and older; 2024 is expected to be the apex of boomer retirement. As the aging population grows at unprecedented rates, Lifespark and UCare are committed to offering new and innovative services to improve older Minnesotans' health and health care experience in both home and senior living communities. Lifespark and UCare are committed to a member- centered approach to provide solutions for all aspects – social, emotional, medical, financial – of a member's well-being.

"Seniors are under-served within a reactive, fragmented, and under-performing 'sick care' system," said Theisen. "As health care systems begin to shift from fee-for-service to value-based reimbursement models, we find ourselves at a critical juncture – continue through a broken system or completely redefine how to deliver value to those that entrust us. We have a responsibility to not just deliver more 'care' but partner with payors and high-quality systems who are focused on driving better health and life outcomes longitudinally with a multiproduct strategy that can serve all. UCare supports this model by investing in our holistic services and technology to deliver on an innovative strategy that will affect how seniors age in Minnesota."

"Aging well is a major focus of ours as we work to provide our members with a path to the best health for their lives at all stages of their lives," said Mark Traynor, President and CEO of UCare. "We believe in the power of Lifespark's holistic services, support and technology to enable our growing Medicare membership to enjoy better health. Lifespark's technology platform provides a window into our members' whole life, not just their medical history, allowing us to understand what matters to them and adapt our services and supports. We think Lifespark's holistic services will have significant impact in helping our most vulnerable members manage their care and avoid hospitalizations. This is an exciting opportunity to be able to serve seniors fully."

UCare was an early adopter of Lifespark's model. In the last few years, Lifespark, UCare, North Memorial Health, and Ridgeview Medical Center have developed value-based arrangements. Since then, Lifespark has assumed risk for nearly 7,000 seniors. Comparing utilization data, UCare members who engaged with a Lifespark Life Manager were 24% less likely to visit the ER and 43% less likely to have an in-patient admission and had a positive experience overall. Lifespark's net promoter score (NPS) to date is a world-class 83% compared to healthcare nationally at 38%.

Theisen added that UCare's investment in Lifespark's population health operating system and technology platform is important progress in the healthcare industry. "By aligning payment and delivery of services based on value versus volume, our partnership is laser focused on well-being and improving health," said Theisen. "With our technology investments and access to comprehensive data, we are uniquely positioned to establish ground-breaking artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities that support our ability to hit quadruple aim targets. Our partnership provides the blueprint for more alignment with UCare's large network of providers and together improving the aging experience for ALL Minnesotans."

About Lifespark
Lifespark, formerly Lifesprk, is a pioneer in whole-person senior services, focused on helping people build a pathway to live their best life. With our belief that isolation is fatal, Lifesprk is driving the new standard for how seniors age in this country as we build the architecture for universal access to wellness by tapping into value-based population health opportunities where Lifespark is sharing risk in exchange for the freedom to offer Lifespark Complete instead of the traditional fee-for-service offerings.

To achieve that vision, Lifespark is heavily investing in the latest state-of-the art technology to connect, predict, and track the medical, and well-being outcomes of seniors through the Lifespark Operating System, our proprietary technology platform. We look beyond the medical data that exists to address and measure social determinants of health, the true drivers behind engaging people and identifying crises before they occur. Lifespark's sophisticated technology is holistic at its core, incorporating first-, second-, and third-party data using predictive analytics and machine learning to provide recommendations that improve people's experience. Visit: www.lifespark.com

About UCare
UCare is an independent, nonprofit health plan providing health care and administrative services to more than 570,000 members throughout Minnesota and parts of western Wisconsin. UCare partners with health care providers, counties, and community organizations to create and deliver Medicare, Medicaid and Individual & Family health plans. The health plan addresses health care disparities and care access issues through a broad array of community initiatives. UCare has received Top Workplaces honors from the Star Tribune for 12 consecutive years since the rankings began in 2010.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Meaghan Puglisi, Lifespark, 952-873-7382, [email protected]
Wendy Wicks, UCare, 612-306-3698, [email protected]

SOURCE Lifespark