Building home care into managed long-term care: the VNS CHOICE model

New approaches to home and community-centered long term care offer strategic opportunities for home health providers to thrive by providing expanded service options for the growing population of chronically ill, frail elders. The traditional expertise of home health providers makes a powerful combination with the flexibility of capitation financing to successfully meet both the needs of dually eligible older adults and government mandates to reduce overall expenditures. VNS CHOICE, a home-centered, managed long-term care program, is built on the principles and delivery system of home health care. By understanding the VNS CHOICE service delivery model and lessons learned from its first two years of operating experience, home care providers across the country may identify innovations to incorporate into their agency product lines.