McKnight's Podcast

CEO: Jukebox Health addresses functional risks in home, supports personal care workers

Episode Summary

Jukebox Health aims to serve as the “connective tissue” between the worlds of home services and healthcare, according to CEO and Co-founder Romanos Fessas. The company, which launched in 2020 and has a presence in seven states, works with Medicaid Managed Care Organizations to improve the functional health and independence of dual-eligible Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. Specifically, when a care manager of a Medicaid MCO recognizes an unmet need of a beneficiary, Jukebox will send an occupational therapist into the home to conduct a clinical assessment, identifying its structural and functional risks. Jukebox will then work with a network of providers to address those functional risks, such as, for example, installing a grab bar in the shower. Personal care agencies, which are often stretched thin, see Jukebox as a “pressure relief valve for a tight labor market,” Fessas told McKnight’s Home Care in a Newsmakers podcast.

Episode Notes

The healthcare system relies too heavily on personal care for dual-eligible Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries living at home, said Romanos Fessas, CEO and co-founder of Jukebox Health. Often, when an older adult at home is struggling with a functional challenge, the answer may not lie with more care but rather with addressing a structural problem in the home, such as placing grab bars in the shower. Jukebox Health aims to fill this need — and relies on care managers of Medicaid Managed Care Organizations to notify them when there is a concern. Jukebox’s core population is the Medicaid long-term services and supports population — the 6% of Medicaid beneficiaries who receive 37% of Medicaid’s budget, Fessas said. Recently, Jukebox acquired Braided Health, which helps provide data and insights for Medicaid MCO care managers.

Follow us on social media:
X: @McKHomeCare
Facebook: McKnight's Home Care
LinkedIn: McKnight's Home Care
Instagram: mcknights_homecare

Follow Jukebox Health on social media:
LinkedIn: Jukebox Health

Show contributors:
McKnight’s Home Care Editor Liza Berger; Romanos Fessas, CEO, Co-founder, Jukebox Health.