Ontrak Report Highlights Opportunity for Payers to Engage Seniors with Unaddressed Behavioral Health Conditions
Ontrak, Inc. (NASDAQ: OTRK) has released a report addressing the growing behavioral health crisis among seniors, highlighting that 1 in 5 older adults face serious mental health disorders, with numbers projected to double by 2030. The report emphasizes the significant healthcare costs associated with undiagnosed behavioral health conditions, particularly among Medicare enrollees. Ontrak's AI-driven approach aims to identify at-risk seniors and connect them with care resources, potentially achieving cost reductions of 40-50% and improving health outcomes. The company plays a critical role in managing behavioral healthcare for those often difficult to engage.
- Ontrak's AI approach may achieve cost savings of 40-50% for healthcare payers.
- The report provides a framework to identify seniors needing behavioral healthcare, potentially improving care engagement.
- Ontrak's programs show evidence of improved health outcomes and high member satisfaction.
- The rising number of seniors facing mental health issues may strain Ontrak's resources.
- Challenges remain in engaging seniors due to cultural barriers and recognition issues.
Ontrak, Inc. (NASDAQ: OTRK) (“Ontrak” or the “Company”), a leading AI-powered and telehealth-enabled, virtualized healthcare company, today released a new report, “How to Address the Growing Behavioral Health Crisis Among Seniors,” examining the growing and challenging problem of recognizing and engaging older Americans in need of behavioral healthcare.
One in 5 older adults experience a serious mental health disorder, a number that is expected to double to 15 million by 2030, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. However, these conditions are often hard to spot or are missed entirely among older Americans. This can lead to lower quality of life, worsening chronic conditions, and a risk of death through suicide or substance abuse.
These situations often lead to largely avoidable costs that can approximate four to five times the average healthcare spending of the general healthcare population, according to a recent McKinsey & Company report. Among Medicare enrollees in particular, a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid report found those with both a behavioral health diagnosis and at least two comorbid conditions had double the healthcare costs of those with none of these diagnoses.
“Addressing behavioral health is challenging across all populations, but especially among seniors, whose presenting symptoms may be attributed to expected signs of aging,” said Dr. Judith Feld, National Medical Director of Ontrak. “The challenge is compounded by several barriers, including cultural or personal barriers that may contribute to seniors reluctance to admit to mental health concerns, as well as the fact that nowadays, many older adults are unable to be cared for routinely by loved ones familiar with their physical and mental health and who could readily recognize potential health issues.”
The new report outlines how Ontrak’s AI-driven approach can help health plans identify seniors at risk for high costs from undiagnosed behavioral health conditions and who are most likely to benefit from treatment. Once identified, Ontrak works to remove individuals’ barriers to care and connect them with trained care coaches and in-network behavioral and physical health providers to guide them through an up-to-52-week therapist-led behavior change program. Seniors with unmanaged behavioral health conditions represent a small segment of the population but drive a large portion of healthcare costs. Engaging seniors and others who need help to achieve lasting behavioral health changes not only delivers validated cost savings of 40-50 percent, but also delivers durable health outcomes and industry-leading member satisfaction scores in enrolled populations.
Ontrak fills in gaps in behavioral healthcare management that health plans struggle to address, because seniors in need of behavioral healthcare are very difficult to engage.
About Ontrak, Inc.
Ontrak, Inc. (f/k/a Catasys, Inc.) is a leading AI and telehealth enabled, virtualized healthcare company, whose mission is to help improve the health and save the lives of as many people as possible. The company’s PRE™ (Predict-Recommend-Engage) platform predicts people whose chronic disease will improve with behavior change, recommends effective care pathways that people are willing to follow, and engages people who are not getting the care they need. By combining predictive analytics with human engagement, Ontrak delivers improved member health and validated outcomes and savings to healthcare payers.
The company’s integrated, technology-enabled Ontrak™ programs, a critical component of the PRE platform, are designed to provide healthcare solutions to members with behavioral conditions that cause or exacerbate chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease, COPD, and congestive heart failure, which result in high medical costs.
Ontrak has a unique ability to engage these members, who do not otherwise seek behavioral healthcare, leveraging proprietary enrollment capabilities built on deep insights into the drivers of care avoidance.
Ontrak integrates evidence-based psychosocial and medical interventions delivered either in-person or via telehealth, along with care coaching and in-market Community Care Coordinators who address the social and environmental determinants of health, including loneliness. The company’s programs improve member health and deliver validated cost savings to healthcare payers of more than 50 percent for enrolled members. Ontrak solutions are available to members of leading national and regional health plans in 30 states and in Washington, D.C.
Learn more at www.ontrak-inc.com
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