Collaboration aims to improve health outcomes for underserved Cleveland residents

UnitedHealthcare to provide $500,000 in funding to MetroHealth to advance programs that address social determinants of health

UnitedHealthcare will provide $500,000 in funding to help expand two MetroHealth programs addressing social determinants of health for underserved populations in the greater Cleveland area. The three-year collaboration expands initiatives targeted at high-risk pregnant mothers and medically complex patient populations. Both programs provide or connect participants to wrap-around services such as housing support and food assistance, as well as financial and employment resources to improve health outcomes.

MetroHealth’s Red Carpet Care program for patients who frequently visit the emergency room and those with medically complex conditions provides food and housing assistance to address the issues that prevent many of these patients from achieving better health. The program aims to improve overall health and reduce the need to visit the hospital by establishing a primary care provider for patients and offering well-coordinated services that meet their basic needs.

MetroHealth’s Mom & Baby Bundle program brings providers and community-based organizations together to support pregnant women and their infants who are at higher risk for poor birth outcomes, including those with opioid use disorder and those experiencing housing insecurity. The program identifies and engages at-risk patients and establishes connections to needed resources in a team-based care environment.

The funding from UnitedHealthcare will enable MetroHealth to increase capacity for both programs, track patient outcomes, as well as identify drivers of poor outcomes. The two organizations will collaborate to design and test effective care management strategies based on program findings, which will have a direct impact on many of UnitedHealthcare’s Medicaid members in the Cleveland area.

“We are proud to partner with UnitedHealthcare, and their support will make a big difference in the lives of so many people in our community,” said MetroHealth chief executive officer and president Akram Boutros, MD, FACHE. “Both programs focus on long-term, sustainable transformation. Whether it is helping mothers and their babies get off to a healthy start or working with people with complex medical issues that often come to our Emergency Department, thousands of people in Northeast Ohio will be better off because of this effort.”

“The need for payer and provider partnerships to address the health needs of the underserved has never been more evident. The COVID-19 pandemic has required all of us to step up our support services and come together for the sake of community health,” said Mike Roaldi, chief executive officer, UnitedHealthcare Community & State Ohio. “We are committed to helping drive better health outcomes for underserved populations in Ohio and are grateful to partners like MetroHealth for their commitment to a mission we both share.”

Research shows that 80 percent of an individual’s health is determined by what happens outside of a doctor’s office.¹ Addressing barriers to better health is one part of UnitedHealthcare’s multi-pronged commitment to redefine healthy living for the uninsured and underserved. UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group company, is also investing in programs and partnerships focused on food, transportation and social isolation. To date, UnitedHealth Group has provided over $100 million in support to support those most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including health care workers, hard-hit communities and older adults.   

About UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making the health system work better for everyone by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. In the United States, UnitedHealthcare offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1.3 million physicians and care professionals, and 6,500 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. The company also provides health benefits and delivers care to people through owned and operated health care facilities in South America. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified health care company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @UHC on Twitter.

About The MetroHealth System

The MetroHealth System, Cuyahoga County’s public health system, is honoring its commitment to create a healthier community by building a new hospital on its main campus in Cleveland. The building and the 25 acres of green space around it are catalyzing the revitalization of MetroHealth’s West Side neighborhood.

MetroHealth broke ground on its new hospital in 2019. The project is being financed with nearly $1 billion the system borrowed on its own credit after dramatically improving its finances. In the past five years, MetroHealth’s operating revenue has increased by 40% and its number of employees by 21%. Today, its staff of 8,000 provides care at MetroHealth’s four hospitals, four emergency departments and more than 20 health centers and 40 additional sites throughout Cuyahoga County. In the past year, MetroHealth has served 300,000 patients at more than 1.4 million visits in its hospitals and health centers, 75% of whom are uninsured or covered by Medicare or Medicaid.

The health system is home to Cuyahoga County’s most experienced Level I Adult Trauma Center, verified since 1992, and Ohio’s only adult and pediatric trauma and burn center.

As an academic medical center, MetroHealth is committed to teaching and research. Each active staff physician holds a faculty appointment at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Its main campus hospital houses a Cleveland Metropolitan School District high school of science and health.

For more information, visit metrohealth.org.