Managed Health Services (MHS) Partners with Indy Reads, Circulation and Lyft to Promote Literacy for Members

INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Managed Health Services (MHS) is partnering with Indy Reads, a nonprofit that offers literacy training and education, Circulation and Lyft to support members with low literacy and encourage them to take literacy classroom training.

One in six adults in Indiana reads below the fifth-grade reading level, and more than 49,000 adults in Marion County struggle to read and write.

"Indy Reads provides literacy education to adults who have trouble reading and writing," said Indy Reads Chief Executive Officer Ryan King. "Reading is the gateway to finding new or better employment, to providing a better life for your family, and to having independence overall. Everyone deserves to have the skills to read a newspaper, complete a job application or read to their kids at bedtime."

Indy Reads programs are completely free for students, and instructors and tutors focus on each student's specific needs. Starting next year, some HIP members will be required to work, go to school, volunteer or participate in other qualifying Gateway to Work activities up to 20 hours a week for at least eight months a year. These Indy Reads classes will count towards the new Gateway to Work requirements.

MHS is helping to ensure members registered in Indy Reads' classes are participating and remaining engaged by providing enhanced transportation benefits through Circulation and Lyft.

"MHS is committed to delivering on its purpose of transforming the health of the community, one person at a time," said MHS CEO Kevin O'Toole. "Supporting our members' pursuit of literacy is an important part of treating the whole person, and we are pleased to partner with Indy Reads on this initiative. We know that lack of transportation can be a barrier for many of our members, and our partnership with Circulation and Lyft will help ensure members have reliable transportation to Indy Reads classes."

"Earlier this year, Lyft made a commitment to reduce the healthcare transportation gap by 50 percent by 2020," said Gyre Renwick, vice president of Lyft Business. "We're excited to partner with MHS and make a meaningful impact by improving people's lives through transportation."

CEO of Circulation, Robin Heffernan, reaffirmed, "Our mission at Circulation is to turn better transportation into better health. This means getting people where they need to be when they need to be there. We are thrilled to partner with organizations like MHS and Indy Reads to make a meaningful impact on the lives of these program participants."

John Barth, MHS Chief Operating Officer and Indy Reads Board member, said, "At MHS we know that a lack of transportation can be an issue for many of our members. Our partnership with Circulation and Lyft will help ensure members have reliable transportation to Indy Reads classes. This program is just part of how we address the social determinates of health for our members."

In addition, MHS is expanding its CentAccount rewards program for members to include incentives for enrolling in and completion of Indy Reads programming. Members can spend their CentAccount rewards at local stores on healthy groceries, personal care items, and over-the-counter medications.

MHS also supports Indy Reads with a sponsorship used to cover the costs of any testing or certifications needed by Indy Reads participants, and by encouraging MHS employees to serve as Indy Reads volunteers.

About MHS
Managed Health Services (MHS) is a managed care entity that has been proudly serving the state of Indiana for more than twenty years through the Hoosier Healthwise and Hoosier Care Connect Medicaid programs; and the Healthy Indiana (HIP) Medicaid alternative program. MHS also offers Ambetter from MHS in the Indiana health insurance marketplace, and Allwell from MHS, a Medicare Advantage plan. All of our plans include quality, comprehensive coverage with a provider network you can trust. Visit mhsindiana.com to learn more. MHS is a wholly-owned subsidy of Centene Corporation®, a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise offering both core Medicaid and specialty services.

About Indy Reads
For more than 30 years, Indy Reads has pursued its mission to promote and improve literacy skills of adults and families in Central Indiana. High literacy levels give access to better opportunities for educational, career, and personal and civic advancement, but statistics show that 1 in 6 Hoosier adults currently read at or below a fifth-grade level. With our interactive Community Classrooms, we offer programs for adult learners to increase literacy and English language proficiency. Experienced instructors, skilled student navigators, and trained classroom volunteers support students in their efforts to achieve. Our vision of a 100% Indianapolis means giving everyone the necessary skills for a greater quality of life.

About Circulation
Circulation offers a HIPAA-compliant, digital platform to coordinate convenient and reliable non-emergency transportation for all areas of healthcare. The Circulation platform is designed to seamlessly integrate all transportation capabilities (e.g. outsourced transportation, owned fleets, and other medical logistics services) and places a new focus on patient convenience and satisfaction. Circulation becomes a single access point for scheduling and monitoring transportation — simplifying ordering, improving reliability and efficiency, and reducing transportation spend. The Circulation team are healthcare experts and the Company is supported by healthcare leaders like Humana, LabCorp, Boston Children's Hospital, Intermountain Healthcare and BCBS North Carolina and Cambia. Circulation is passionate about improving health outcomes and believe that better transportation is a key factor to shifting how consumers consume healthcare. For more information on Circulation, please visit www.circulation.com. Follow Circulation on Twitter: @circulation

About Lyft
Lyft was founded in June 2012 by Logan Green and John Zimmer to improve people's lives with the world's best transportation. Lyft is the fastest growing rideshare company in the U.S. and is available to 95 percent of the US population and Toronto, Canada. Lyft is preferred by drivers and passengers for its safe and friendly experience, and its commitment to effecting positive change for the future of our cities.

About Lyft Business
Lyft Business offers travel, commute, event, and courtesy ride solutions that provide customers with the tools they need to reduce cost, save time, and streamline their transportation programs. We partner with thousands of organizations to create unique solutions to move their people, from employees and customers to patients and students. To learn more about Lyft Business, visit www.lyft.com/business.

SOURCE Managed Health Services (MHS)

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