The clients of Vital Decisions are the private insurers, not the patients, nor the physicians, nor any other members of the health care team. The services are provided over the phone from offices in New Jersey – a definition of personal care that only the insurers can understand. Of course, this is “at no cost to you” since your insurer pays for this service. After an introductory letter that is routinely ignored, the counselors cold-call to try to convince you to accept their end-of-life counseling. They use your confidential medical diagnoses that have been provided to them by the private insurers to market to you an advisory service on negotiating the health care system. Who are these counselors? In the example given, they are employees of Vital Decisions, a private, for-profit corporation that sells its services to private insurance companies. When you are faced with advanced illness, perhaps nearing the end of life, where would you want to turn for medical advice on how to get through this difficult time? Your personal physician and health care team? Private health insurers, always looking for more administrative innovations to sell us, are now using high pressure tactics to force “advanced illness counselors” into the management of your care. HHS.gov: Health Information Privacy: “Business Associates”: The Company is a portfolio company of MTS Health Investors, the New York-based healthcare private equity firm. The Company is profitable, and cash flow-positive, and is a leader in the growing field of advanced illness counseling. We are a privately held company located in the Metropark business complex in Edison, NJ. Our clients include several leading national, regional, and local health care plans which offer our service free of charge to appropriate individuals within their member populations. ![]() We help patients clarify their values and preferences and then communicate with their family and care team to actualize those preferences. Vital Decisions is an innovative organization that assists patients and families dealing with advanced illness. “Because if you don’t have enough knowledge about what’s actually going on with the patient, it would actually be irresponsible to pretend to have discussion that depends upon such knowledge.” Lauris Kaldjian, professor of bioethics at the University of Iowa, has concerns about the social worker, patient and family never actually meeting. Research is finding that when patients fully understand aggressive care, many choose less of it.īut some people are wary of the company’s approach. ![]() It’s paid for by insurers and federal privacy rules permit this for business purposes.Īnd when these conversations do happen, there’s can be another byproduct: reduced costs. He could also choose to allow the counselor to talk to his doctors or family directly. Then he’ll be empowered to communicate those things with others, including his family and his doctors. The hope of this program, she says, is to build a relationship over the phone, so (the patient) might be comfortable discussing his situation and his goals. After sending a letter (people rarely respond) counselors essentially cold-call to offer what they describe as “nondirected” end-of-life counseling. Schleicher is one of 50 social workers at a company called Vital Decisions. ![]() Except she knows your phone number, your insurance provider and that you are pretty sick. Kate Schleicher, 27, is a licensed clinical social worker, who knows almost as little about you as you do about her. ![]() Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Operator? Business, Insurer Take On End-of-Life Issues By Phone
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