The quiet healthcare revolution

CareMore, a company based in Cerritos, CA, operates 26 care centers across the Southwest, serving more than 50,000 Medicare Advantage patients. Those numbers are likely to grow, perhaps dramatically, in the next few years: in August, CareMore was acquired by the insurer and health-services provider WellPoint, which serves 70 million people nationwide directly or through subsidiaries, and has plans to expand the CareMore model. CareMore, through its unique approach to caring for the elderly, is routinely achieving patient outcomes that other providers can only dream about: a hospitalization rate 24% below average; hospital stays 38% shorter; an amputation rate among diabetics 60% lower than average. Perhaps most remarkable of all, these improved outcomes have come without increased total cost.