Liberty Health Advantage is dedicated to filling a gap that exists in many local communities by making quality and affordable healthcare more accessible to residents.
“At Liberty Health Advantage, our goal is to improve the quality of life of our members in the communities where they live. We recognize that access to care, quality providers and reasonable costs are major concerns and we also recognize that many other issues impact the quality of life, such as lifestyle issues, disease management and access to services within the community. It is our goal to understand and respond to these life issues by partnering with and helping community organizations in a variety of ways,” said Kerry McDonald, president of Liberty Health Advantage.
Liberty Health Advantage, which first entered the market in November of 2005, serves individuals in all five boroughs and Nassau County who are eligible for Medicare and have Part A and B coverage. They also serve dual eligible people and are now beginning to look at people with special needs to find out how they can best be served in the future.
Liberty Health Advantage offers members all of the original Medicare benefits as well as several extra ones. Additional benefits offered by Liberty Health Advantage include coverage for transportation, vision, dental, hearing and routine medical exams.
“These are things that are over and above what is typically provided by Medicare,” said Jon Leeke, senior vice president of Business Development for Liberty Health Advantage.
Although its members are getting extra benefits, they do not pay an additional fee. Medicare pays Liberty Health Advantage a capitation rate, based on its membership, and through effective management and the proper allocation of resources, this is used to fund all of their plan improvements over original Medicare, including the additional benefits.
Other highlights of the program are that there is no annual deductible, no co-payment for inpatient hospital services, no co-payments for primary care office visits or visits to a specialist's office.
Recently, following a cost-comparison study by HealthMatrix Research Inc., Liberty Health Advantage was given the 2007 Senior Choice Gold Award for its Preferred Choice Plan, which is approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This marked the second year in a row that Liberty Health Advantage earned the honor.
“This award responds to the continued concerns and uncertainties that beneficiaries have with the out-of-pocket costs incurred when they enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan,” said Alan Mittermaier, president of HealthMatrix Research and MedicareNewsWatch.com. “Liberty Health Advantage has demonstrated a commitment to delivering maximum value in the design of their plan benefits, co-payments, deductibles and premiums. We anticipate that informed beneficiaries will rely on this award as an indication of excellence just as they rely on other awards and consumer ratings that recognize excellence in quality care, health outcomes and member satisfaction.”
In order to best serve the community, Liberty Health Advantage has a strong emphasis on being quality driven and community focused. Because of this, it has created partnerships with healthcare providers throughout the borough of Queens to better meet the needs of its members. The company said that these partnerships also benefit the doctors, who they said are deeply concerned about the community, by assisting them in growing practices and expanding their services.
Some of the key partnerships that Liberty Health Advantage has in Queens are with Dr. Rozo of Centro Medico in Jackson Heights and Woodhaven, Privilege Care in Elmhurst and Corona, Woodhaven Medical Centers in Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, Ridgewood and Corona, Healthcare First in Ozone Park and Dr. Camille Philippe in Jamaica. The organization has also formed a close working relationship with The New Parkway Hospital, which is located in Forest Hills and will be jointly sponsoring upcoming events for area residents.
Leeke explained that Liberty Health Advantage is not about restricting access to necessary care or disrupting a doctor's normal referral process, saying that the organization wants to “manage the process without interfering with the way members have been receiving their health care.” They do not force the doctors they work with to change the specialists they make referrals to, but rather find out who the doctors use and then try to contract with them, thus eliminating any disruption in service.
“It's just a simplistic idea but nobody's doing it quite as effectively,” said McDonald. He added, “We really are taking some significant steps forward to actually change the perception on how health care is delivered so it's more focused on individuals and less on the money.”
Also, Liberty Health Advantage focuses heavily on neighborhoods that are typically underserved. The low cost of their coverage plans makes it much more affordable for individuals who have low
incomes and fixed incomes.
“We really are bringing a high level of benefits and providing them at the lowest possible out-of-pocket cost to our members,” said Leeke.
Another way that Liberty Health Advantage goes the extra mile for its members is by teaming up with Doctors On Call, which is a program where doctors make house calls to patients in the five boroughs. Through this program, the doctors sometimes become the patient's primary care physician (PCP), and then visit the house on a regular basis over a prescribed course of treatment. Liberty Health Advantage is also developing a program for residents of skilled nursing facilities that are able to take care of certain health care needs on site, although a person is always sent to the hospital if it is necessary.
“It's really about focusing on the needs of an individual and then working closely with our doctors and hospitals with an emphasis on providing the highest quality care, in the most appropriate setting, resulting in the best possible outcomes in terms of the patient's health and wellbeing,” Leeke said.
Liberty Health Advantage has been a strong presence in the community and holds frequent informational seminars every month throughout the boroughs and Nassau County.
In the year that it has been around, Liberty Health Advantage has already grown to include 1,300 members. However, during the next several months, it will be looking to increase that number even further through various projects and plans.
“Our goal is to have 5,000 members by April 1,” McDonald said. “It is very obtainable and working together with our partners in the community we will make it happen.”
For more information on Liberty Health Advantage, the coverage options it offers and to see a complete list of its upcoming outreach programs, visit www.libertyhealthadvantage.com. They can also be reached Sunday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. by calling 1-866-542-4269 or 1-800-662-1120.
