Sunflower Health Plan Achieves 95 Percent Satisfaction Rate

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Sep 11, 2017, 08:00 ET

LENEXA, Kan., Sept. 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- A third-party research company recently surveyed Sunflower Health Plan's members who receive long-term services and supports (LTSS). The results delivered last week indicated 94.96 percent were satisfied or very satisfied with the care they received from Sunflower.

"Sunflower's business model has always been, first, to do what's right for our members, and this survey shows that it's working," said Chris Coffey, Sunflower Health Plan president and CEO. "We're happy to see that so many of our most vulnerable members are pleased with our care staff and services."

The survey, conducted through SPH Analytics, was sent to more than 8,000 Sunflower members receiving home and community based services (HCBS). More than one fourth responded.

Members answered questions about their care managers, feelings of safety in their current services, feelings of being respected, Sunflower transportation services and more. All total scores ranged between 80-99 percent. (Chart below.)

"It's great to know we're doing a lot of things right, but we also will use these results to assess how we can do things better," Coffey said.

Sunflower has an array of interventions it employs to meet the special needs of its diverse members. These include:

Transition Coordination: Sunflower offers enhanced transition services for persons moving from a nursing facility, focusing on safe and successful placements.
Extraordinary Funding: Sunflower is working with key providers of services to individuals with extraordinary funding to maintain capacity of specialized services and reduce administrative burden.
Targeted Case Management Pilot: Sunflower is working with a pilot group of TCM providers on a proposal to change documentation from unit-based activities to individualized member outcomes and to better define the roles of TCMs and our care coordinators in the person-centered support planning process.
LTSS Advisory Committee: Since 2016, this committee of providers, associations and member advocacy groups has met quarterly to give valuable advice on ways to improve outcomes for members in HCBS services.

The survey questioned individuals on the following types of Medicaid waivers:

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Technology Assisted (TA)
Intellectually/Developmentally Disabled (IDD)
Physically Disabled (PD)
Frail and Elderly (FE)

The term LTSS refers to a spectrum of community-based health and individualized living services that support elders or people with disabilities who need help with daily-living tasks. Sunflower Health Plan is contracted by the State of Kansas Medicaid agency to assess and coordinate care for members receiving medical and behavioral health services and LTSS in the managed-care program named KanCare.

RESULTS SUMMARY:

	WAIVER TYPE
	IDD	FE	PD	TA	TBI	Total
Number of Surveys Sent	4,142	1,790	2,025	145	114	8,216
Number of Surveys Returned	977	612	611	24	16	2240
Percent Returned	23.6%	34.2%	30.2%	16.6%	14.0%	27.26%

QUESTIONS						Satisfaction
How satisfied are you with the help you receive from your Sunflower care manager? (Satisfied/Very Satisfied)						95.50%
When you call your Sunflower care manager, do they respond within 1 business day? (Sometimes/Always)						96.74%
Does your Sunflower care manager respect your personal beliefs and preferences during your discussions? (Sometimes/Always)						98.94%
Has your Sunflower care manager talked with you about services that might meet your needs and goals? (Somewhat/Very Much)						91.86%
Overall, how satisfied are you with the Home & Community Based Services you receive? (Satisfied/Very Satisfied)						95.92%
Do the people who are paid to help you do things in the way you want them done? (Somewhat/Very Much)						96.80%
How often do the people who are paid to help you treat you the way you want them to? (Sometimes/Always)						98.94%
Overall, how safe do you feel with the people that help you? (Safe/Very Safe)						99.00%
How often do you do things with your friends, your family or in your community? (Sometimes/Always)						80.82%
If you scheduled transportation through Sunflower, how satisfied are you with the transportation service you received? (Satisfied/Very Satisfied)						82.14%
Overall, how satisfied are you with the care you receive from Sunflower?						94.96%

About Sunflower Health Plan – Sunflower Health Plan, a subsidiary of Centene Corporation, is a managed care organization established to deliver quality healthcare in the state of Kansas through local, regional and community-based resources. Sunflower is committed to improving the health of its beneficiaries through focused, compassionate and coordinated care in an approach based on the core belief that quality healthcare is best delivered locally. For more information, please visit www.sunflowerhealthplan.com.

SOURCE Sunflower Health Plan