Humana, Quantified Ventures, and Volunteers of America Partner to Establish First of Its Kind Health Outcomes Fund

Originally published on Humana.com 

The new fund will help Volunteers of America sustainably scale Family Focused Recovery program operations to provide comprehensive services to mothers with substance use disorder and their children

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) today re-confirms its commitment to provide innovative models of care for families through a catalytic investment of $5 million in an outcomes-based fund, supported by Quantified Ventures; the new fund will help Volunteers of America (VOA) sustainably scale Family Focused Recovery (FFR) program operations to provide comprehensive services to mothers with substance use disorder and their children.

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Nearly 20 million adult Americans struggle with a substance use disorder, and women account for more than 30 percent of the nearly 50,000 opioid-related overdose deaths in 2018. The FFR programs operated by VOA are among the few in the U.S. that combine intensive addiction treatment services with wrap around family support to address underlying social determinants of health that often impede recovery.

“We know both mothers and children thrive if they remain together during treatment and the needs of all family members are being met. Healthy babies and healthy moms in recovery are our goals,” said VOA National President Mike King. “Thanks to this innovative partnership, we will be able to offer this successful model of recovery to many more families in need.”

In partnership with Quantified Ventures, Humana is providing Volunteers of America affiliates with access to capacity-building services and innovative, outcomes-based financing to help VOA scale to meet increasing demand in the communities they serve.

As part of its Bold Goal population health strategy, Humana has committed to the development and scaling of key community programs that can improve both clinical and social health outcomes among its members and their families. With an initial focus on FFR, Humana and Quantified Ventures are committed to working with community-based organizations (CBOs) to bring innovative financing solutions to strengthen our social safety net for vulnerable populations. This includes direct investment, the development of value-based contracting arrangements, and the structuring of robust, accountable, and sustained financing arrangements that deliver the capital needed to address critical population health challenges in priority Humana markets.

“This is the time for smart, bold solutions that strengthen our social safety net. With strong partners like Volunteers of America and Quantified Ventures, we’re able to extend our impact into the communities we serve, better enabling us to address the holistic needs of our members and their families,” said Dr. Will Shrank, Humana’s Chief Medical & Government Affairs Officer.

COVID-19 has severely strained a social safety net that already struggled to meet demand. It also has revealed the financial vulnerability of many CBOs, which often operate on razor-thin margins and rely on support from a patchwork of grants, donations, and government contracts that rarely cover actual program costs. This lack of adequate and flexible capital impedes service expansion and long-term sustainability. By expanding VOA’s capacity to engage in value-based purchasing arrangements and achieve consistent revenue streams, Humana and Quantified Ventures will support FFR program stability, planning, and growth.

“Humana is boldly stepping in to engage as a sustainability partner to CBOs that – now more than ever – are critical to restoring wellbeing and health in their communities. This is exactly the type of corporate leadership and flexible capital our communities need right now to solve big challenges,” said Eric Letsinger, CEO of Quantified Ventures. “We are thrilled to be deepening our partnership with Humana and look forward to continuing our work with innovative CBOs like Volunteers of America.”

In partnership, Humana and Quantified Ventures will:

  • Create a dedicated FFR Fund, a first-of-its-kind vehicle designed to deliver high-impact health outcomes for pregnant mothers in priority states. This fund is designed to encourage further investment to drive towards scale.
  • Structure payment models between Humana and partner CBOs that enable efficient and predictable scaling of priority community-based programs, starting with FFR.
  • Generate model programs and outcomes data to inform policies that seek to shift the balance of medical spending toward human services that address social determinants of health to improve population health and wellbeing.
  • Deliver meaningful improvements in health and wellbeing to the thousands of individuals receiving services to combat substance use disorder and other health-related social needs.

 

 

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