ALEXANDRIA, Virginia & WASHINGTON—The National Alliance for Care at Home (The Alliance), Aetna Medicaid, a CVS Health company, and MissionCare Collective have begun a collaborative effort to increase access to home health care for older adults and those with disabilities, and increase supports for direct care workers in Illinois, Louisiana and North Carolina.
Initially launching in Illinois, Louisiana and North Carolina, the pilot program is funded by Aetna and brings together two national providers committed to transforming care delivery at home. The Alliance represents providers across homecare, home health, hospice and palliative services, serving as an advocate for care delivered where people live. MissionCare Collective, a workforce innovation provider, offers a suite of solutions designed to build, retain and support the care workforce at scale. This collaboration aims to expand workforce capacity and improve retention, ensuring older adults and individuals with disabilities have reliable access to high-quality care in the setting they prefer—their home.
As part of the collaboration, the Alliance, Aetna and MissionCare Collective convene regularly to assess data trends and where targeted action is needed most to strengthen the direct care workforce and support providers. In addition, designated health care providers will implement CoachUp Care, a data-driven workforce solution from MissionCare Collective. CoachUp Care is designed to increase engagement, strengthen workforce supports and surface actionable insights to proactively address turnover across all roles in health care. Together, these efforts aim to build a scalable, measurable framework for long-term workforce stability.
“The direct care workforce is not only struggling to meet the rising demand for care but also to make ends meet,” said Steve Landers, CEO of National Alliance for Care at Home. “By working together across our industry, we can advance strategies that directly support the economic security of home health care workers and provide a more durable solution to help expand the direct care sector, which is projected to add over 1 million new jobs between 2021 and 2031.”
“Americans are living longer and the persistent shortage of direct care workers is creating a significant health care gap for those that need it most,” said Chris Jagmin, Aetna’s chief medical officer for Medicaid. “By bringing Aetna, the Alliance and MissionCare together, we can better identify actionable solutions to make a difference in the lives of older adults and those with disabilities.”
While direct care workers are challenged to meet the rising demand for home health care needs, they often struggle with their own health care coverage. MissionCare reports that 32% of caregivers rely on Medicaid, even as they provide essential care to Medicaid beneficiaries.
Utilizing CoachUp Care, the collaboration will also help better understand the social care needs of Medicaid-eligible home health care workers. The organizations will work together to deliver strategies that enhance economic security, improve day-to-day support and create sustainable career pathways for Medicaid members working—or seeking to work—as direct care professionals.
“We’re honored to have a seat at the table for the hard conversations that need to happen if we’re going to solve one of the biggest challenges in our care economy,” said Brandi Kurtyka, CEO of MissionCare Collective and facilitator of the workforce initiative. “This effort goes far beyond implementing technology—it’s about bringing the right people together, people with both the heart and the power to drive real, lasting change.”
“We are always looking for ways to improve employee retention,” said Lisa King, senior vice president of operations with All Ways Caring HomeCare, a health care provider participating in the pilot in Illinois, Louisiana and North Carolina. “Our care givers are the heart of what we do, but too often, they can earn more money in other industries. We need innovative ideas and a scalable solution to retain homecare workers.”
The following home health care providers are participating in the program:
- Illinois: All Ways Caring HomeCare, Family First Home Care, Interim Health Care, Provider Preferred Home Health, Sparta Community Hospital, UW Health Swedish American Hospital
- Louisiana: All Ways Caring HomeCare, Complete Home Health, Hospice of Acadiana
- North Carolina: All Ways Caring HomeCare, Ally Home Care, Liberty Health East, Liberty Health West, Piedmont Home Care