Medicare Benefit Enhancements & Patient Engagement Incentives
Offered to Bluerock Care Original Medicare beneficiaries
Medicare has started an initiative where health care providers who share a common goal of improving patient experience and outcomes can work together more effectively. This initiative brings together health care professionals in a Direct Contracting Entity to work with Medicare to give you more coordinated care and services. We are voluntarily participating in this initiative by joining Penn Ave Health DCE, a group of likeminded health care providers, because it will help us provide better care for our patients.
This initiative does not impact your Medicare benefits, or your freedom of choice to go to any doctor, hospital or other healthcare provider of your choice that accepts Medicare. Because of this initiative, however, some special features will be available to you at no extra cost.
To support the ability to optimally manage the care for Medicare patients, CMS allows participants in Direct Contracting to provide benefit enhancements and patient engagement incentives to Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in our DCE. These benefit enhancements and patient engagement incentives are subject to clinical criteria and/or financial need. They include:
Care Management in your home and Post-Hospital Care in your home to help you manage your chronic conditions and avoid hospitalization where possible. Eligibility will be based on medical need and on whether you reside in Bluerock’s House Calls service area.
Access to our wellness programs
Gift card rewards for participation in our recommended lifestyle, prevention, and disease management programs for patients with one or more of the following conditions or risk factors: diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, or other risk factors for heart disease.
Free transportation to and from our office for patients who do not have access to existing, available benefits, such as Senior MedExpress, Metroaccess, or Medicaid-covered transportation. The service is not intended to replace existing private transportation. Patients may be sharing a ride with others. Read more.
No Medicare copays or coinsurance for our primary care services. This includes remaining copays after secondary insurance coverage.
Note: we cannot provide the last benefit (no copays) to patients who drop their secondary insurance, or change to a secondary insurance with higher copays.
These benefits are only available to patients enrolled in Medicare Part B and enrolled in the ‘Direct Contracting’ initiative through Bluerock Care. If you are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan (from United, Cigna, Aetna or another plan), we are very happy to serve you but cannot provide these benefits. If you have Original Medicare and a so-called ‘Supplemental plan’, such as Blue Cross Blue Shield, GEHA or United AARP, we can provide these benefits. Any questions? Call us!
Within the criteria listed above, these benefit enhancements and patient engagement initiatives are available for all Medicare Part B beneficiaries that have been enrolled in Direct Contracting, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sex, age, mental or physical disability, health status, receipt of health care, medical history, genetic information, evidence of insurability, income or geographic location.
Bluerock retains the right to change the clinical and/or other criteria for access to these benefits at any time.
For more information about Direct Contracting, benefit enhancements, patient enhancement incentives, and the rules and regulations guiding these enhancements and incentives, please see: