Back

Belle Expands In-Home and Virtual Chronic Care Capabilities, Creating Access for More than 50 Million Polychronic Medicare Members with Ongoing Care Management Needs

By Brian Dwyer

Belle today announced new clinical resources that will deliver additional value to Medicare Advantage Plans, ACOs and Original Medicare Members with a home-based, foot forward approach to chronic care management.

With the upgrades to core capabilities, Belle now provides comprehensive chronic care management services, including annual wellness visits, regular check-ins with clinicians, creation and maintenance of care plans and referrals to care. These investments also allow Belle to function as a provider, enabling additional flexibility in the delivery of its services to Medicare Advantage plans and ACOs.

“The feet have proven to be the greatest door opener of all time,” said Armand Lauzon, founder and CEO of Belle. “Between 40-60 percent of targeted members will allow our team into their homes, and then we are able to sustain engagement over time because of the joy our experience creates.”

Read the full release.

By Armand Lauzon

3 Reasons a Foot-Forward Approach to Chronic Care Management Has Real Legs

Effectively managing chronic conditions has proven to be a very elusive pursuit. Our healthcare system has not been able to curb the relentless rise in prevalence the last several decades. Even worse, we also have not been able to slow the progression of chronic conditions among individuals and effectively minimize the health and financial […]

Clinical Care

By Rufus Howe

5 Steps We Can Take to Make Leaps Forward with Chronic Care Management

In the United States, the number of people with chronic disease is spiraling out of control. About 129 million have at least 1 chronic disease – about half of which are preventable. Heart disease, cancer, obesity, and hypertension contribute significantly to this list, accounting for approximately 90% of the $4.1 trillion healthcare spend. We […]

Clinical Care

By Brian Dwyer

Communication, Coordination and Mass Adoption of Value-Based Care Can Cure Healthcare Quickly: Belle’s Q&A with Cheri Lattimer

Cheri Lattimer is an RN by training and has worked at all levels of care. She is a valued member of Belle’s strategic advisory board. Cheri has held various leadership positions including Administrator for the Case Management Society of America and Executive Director for the Transition of Care Coalition. Cheri also maintains active roles […]

Industry Q&A

By Armand Lauzon

The Annual Wellness Visit Needs a Complete Makeover – Here’s How We Fix It

Last year, the Wall Street Journal published an exclusive healthcare expose titled, “The One-Hour Nurse Visits That Let Insurers Collect $15 Billion From Medicare.” Within it, the media outlet largely skewered the practice of annual wellness visits and questioned the intentions and integrity of payers. This is not the only public critique of these […]

Clinical Care

By Brian Dwyer

Learning to Share, Doing the Right Thing and Bracing for the Boomers – Belle’s Q&A with Tracie Fahy

Tracie Fahy has more than two decades of experience in the healthcare industry, ranging from internal operations to market management. She is a valued member of Belle’s strategic advisory board. Tracie currently consults with health plan and provider groups across the country. Previously, Tracie served as President of Humana Medicare for North Florida. […]

Industry Q&A

By Eli Goldberg

New Research Suggests Intentional Human Connection Is a Far More Powerful Prescription than Pharmaceuticals for Managing Chronic Conditions

Delivering timely interventions to better manage chronic conditions is a significant challenge. Traditionally, patients only receive care and education when in a primary care setting. Unfortunately, primary care providers are often reactive and prioritize acute care over proactive, long-term prevention strategies. These clinicians are bound by time-constrained visits and limited training in preventive care. […]

Data & Impact

By Brian Dwyer

The Viability of Telehealth, Improving Chronic Condition Management and Responding to the Speed of Technology in Healthcare: Belle’s Q&A with Dr. Christian Wilson

Dr. Christian Wilson serves as Medical Director for Belle, overseeing the company’s delivery of virtual clinical support for medically complex individuals. Dr. Wilson has served as a resident physician with New York-Presbyterian Hospital, a management consultant with Boston Consulting Group and as an assistant professor of medicine with Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center. He […]

Industry Q&A

By Brian Dwyer

Rise in Uncompensated Care, Increasing Growth for Medicare Advantage and Access Challenges for Medicaid Beneficiaries Among Predictions for Healthcare in 2025

As we ring in another year, the Belle team has compiled our predictions for 2025. Here is a quick-hitting list of what’s to come for healthcare in the year ahead. Uncompensated care will be on the rise, driven by an increase in individuals who are experiencing homelessness, as well as those who have […]

MA Trends

By Armand Lauzon

As the Technology Tsunami Continues in Healthcare, We Must Ensure Physical Touch Isn’t Washed Away from Individuals Who Need It Most

It seems our answer for everything that ails healthcare in the U.S. comes back to technology. According to Rock Health, digital health startups pulled in $5.7 billion worth of funding in the first half of 2024 alone. The most recent HLTH conference was littered with technology-centric innovations launching or seeking additional investment. Additionally, there […]

MA Trends

By Brian Dwyer

The Future of Supplemental Benefits, Rising Adoption of Generative AI, Potential Impact of the Presidential Election and the Emerging Focus on Member Experience – What We’re Hearing Lately from the Speaker Circuit

Belle has had the privilege of speaking at several leading industry events recently, which has also allowed us to tune in to the latest trends impacting the healthcare space, specifically within Medicare Advantage circles. In the spirit of collaboration and thought leadership, we wanted to share what we’ve heard, and what we’ve learned. Below […]

MA Trends

By Shawna Wilson

From Contention to Collaboration – How Payers Can Make Progress with Providers to Better Serve Medicare Advantage Members

Medicare Advantage plans are facing financial pressure across multiple fronts, including a CMS crackdown on prior-authorization rules, a steady stream of scrutiny around risk adjustment strategies and a consistently rising bar for star ratings. A recent McKinsey report suggests that plans should “focus on building better provider partnerships and improving member engagement in their […]

MA Trends

By Brian Dwyer

Belle and Cloud303 Fuel Development of AI Technology for In-Home Preventive Care Powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Nashville, TN – September 25, 2024 — Belle, the largest in-home foot care company in the U.S., and Cloud303, a leading provider of cloud-based healthcare solutions, today announced the two organizations will accelerate the development of strategic artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) aimed at revolutionizing preventive care in the home. Powered by […]

News

By Armand Lauzon

Avoiding Systemic Collapse: Increasing Deployment of Community Health Workers is a Just in Time Response to a Dwindling Healthcare Workforce

By the year 2033, the U.S. will experience a shortage of up to 139,000 physicians. The brave professionals who are doing their best amidst the growing shortage are feeling the burden. Nearly 50% of primary care physicians are experiencing burnout. Meanwhile, experts predict a shortage of more than 78,000 registered nurses next year. Almost […]

Clinical Care

By Armand Lauzon

Prioritize Point Solutions that Can Simplify Navigation + Coordinate Care to Avoid Fragmentation for Members and Frustration for Providers

In many ways, technology has positively impacted our healthcare system and fueled innovation and improvement. At the same time, technology has also created chaos. As an example, the digital health revolution has produced more than 350,000 new products and services for health plans, providers and employers to evaluate. This has been a driving force […]

MA Trends

By Armand Lauzon

Looking to Boost Member Engagement? It’s About the Journey, Not the Destination.

Many consumer brands have learned that broader, more sustainable success is achieved by building long-lasting relationships with customers instead of being hyper-focused on an initial sale or a specific transaction. In other words, they take the long view. They focus on the journey, not a destination. For example, Nike is not in the business […]

Engagement

By Molly Srour

Measuring ROI Has Always Been a Struggle for Health Plans and Vendors. Now the Stakes Are Higher Than Ever. How Do We Credibly Show Value?

One of the most critical variables to consider when comparing potential solutions for Medicare Advantage plans is how various vendors measure their performance and demonstrate value. Measurement is really hard. It requires dedicated data science and actuarial expertise, in addition to supporting data infrastructure and processes. Even if these things are available, it can […]

Data & Impact

By Armand Lauzon

Setting Joy as Your Experiential North Star: It’s Time to Surprise and Delight Healthcare Consumers

Consumers are not accustomed to being surprised and delighted in their healthcare interactions. While they typically like and trust their personal physicians, outside of that relationship, they’ve often been let down and underwhelmed. To successfully engage your members, you must overcome what we call the “engagement sins of the system”. Take an average doctor’s visit as an […]

Engagement

By Brian Dwyer

The Value Triangle: How Your Medicare Advantage Plan Can Ensure Every Supplemental Benefit Offers Strategic Upside

In 2024, the average Medicare beneficiary has access to more than 40 Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. This is approximately twice as many choices as individuals had in 2018. As competition has stiffened, many MA plans have pumped up supplemental benefits as a way of attracting new enrollees and retaining existing members. The median number […]

MA Trends

By Armand Lauzon

Trust Is the Key to Rekindling Dwindling Satisfaction and Loyalty Among Medicare Advantage Members

Getting members activated and engaged is hard work, even when they’re highly satisfied with your plan. What happens when they’re less satisfied? It gets infinitely harder. Current trends suggest that most Medicare Advantage plans are finding themselves taking the “infinitely harder” path to member engagement. One recent study reported an average Net Promoter Score […]

Engagement

By Eli Goldberg

From Joy to Value: Quantifying ROI of In-Home Foot Care for Medically Complex Health Plan Members

Belle provides In-home foot care (medical pedicures) for members of Medicare Advantage plans, as well as Chronic Condition Special Needs Plans (C-SNPs). We consistently receive glowing reviews from members and fare incredibly well on all satisfaction measures, including maintaining a NPS of 98. Creating joy for individuals is core to what we do as […]

Data & Impact