Payer Provides Homebound COVID-19 Vaccine Access, Best Practices

To ensure COVID-19 vaccine access for homebound individuals, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has partnered with the Commonwealth Care Alliance (CCA), a health plan that says it has proven best practices for vaccinating this population.

CCA, an integrated care system that serves individuals with significant social and health needs, was the first integrated plan in Massachusetts to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to its homebound members. The plan has administered vaccines to almost 500 homebound individuals since February.

Now, CCA has teamed up with the Commonwealth to lead the statewide vaccination effort for all members of this population, regardless of health insurance plan.

“CCA is honored to lead this critical mission of vaccinating homebound citizens of Massachusetts,” President & CEO of Commonwealth Care Alliance Christopher D. Palmieri said in a press release. “Since our inception, CCA’s approach to care has been rooted in the community to ensure the most appropriate site of care for the individuals we so proudly serve.”

“Over the past five weeks, we have successfully vaccinated hundreds of our own homebound health plan members, and our team is ready to expand this effort across the state and aid the Commonwealth’s vaccination effort in any way we can,” Palmieri continued.

The Commonwealth defines a “homebound” individual as anyone who needs assistance from two or more people to leave home. In Massachusetts, there are about 20,000 individuals who meet this definition, prompting state healthcare leaders to seek guidance on best practices from a care plan that has successfully delivered COVID-19 vaccines to this population.

The Massachusetts COVID Command Center has enlisted CCA to handle all central operations of the vaccination effort for homebound individuals. This includes providing technological infrastructure, overseeing delivery logistics, conducting patient outreach, and scheduling vaccination appointments.  

The Commonwealth will identify eligible homebound residents through a screening process supported through local partners, such as area boards of health. Homebound individuals or their caretakers can also call the state’s 211 line to confirm vaccination eligibility by answering a series of screening questions. The state will then refer eligible residents to CCA to schedule an appointment.

Massachusetts officials will distribute vaccines on a weekly basis to vaccination hubs run by CCA. Contracted or volunteer vaccinators will come to the hubs at scheduled times to pick up “go bags,” which include PPE, an appointment list, and the appropriate number of COVID-19 vaccines. Then, they will travel to patient homes to administer the vaccine and return to the hub.

As one of the first healthcare organizations in the country to vaccinate homebound individuals, CCA has also been part of the national discussion around strategies to ensure COVID-19 vaccine access for this population. Last month, CCA joined AHIP in briefing the White House, promoting the prioritization of homebound individuals in COVID-19 vaccine delivery efforts and underlining CCA’s best practices in this endeavor.

Blue Shield of California is also prioritizing homebound individuals in its vaccination distribution efforts. Creating at-home vaccine options for homebound Californians furthers the payer’s pledge to address social determinants of health in the pursuit of health equity.

“Our goal is to save lives by helping to provide all Californians equitable access to the vaccines,” said President and CEO of Blue Shield of California, Paul Markovich, in a press release at the time of the payer’s expanded vaccine network announcement.

The payer is also partnering with community clinics, multi-county entities, pharmacies, and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) to ensure the most at-risk populations have access to the COVID-19 vaccine.

“We are working diligently with local, county and state officials, healthcare providers, and other important stakeholders to build a high-performing network that's only constrained by the supply we receive. Together, we can defeat this pandemic, reopen our economy, and more quickly return to normalcy,” Markovich continued.