VNAHG’s Visiting Physician Services Now Accepting Aetna Medicare

Visiting Physician Services (VPS), part of the Parker Advanced Care Institute at VNA Health Group, is pleased to announce that they are now accepting Aetna Medicare for their geriatric house call services. This includes Aetna Medicare Advantage HMO and PPO plans.  Aetna joins traditional Medicare, Horizon and Amerigroup as the primary insurances accepted by VPS.  According to Alex Binder, Vice President, Parker Advanced Care Institute, VNA Health Group, “As the shift to managed Medicare continues to increase, we felt that it was prudent to partner with these insurance companies in an effort to reach more homebound individuals. We can now bring great value and care to Aetna managed care patients who might not otherwise have access to home physician services.”

Visiting Physician Services is a home-based primary care practice for older adult and homebound patients and is one of the largest, most experienced house call practices in New Jersey.  For over 25 years, their mission has been to enable patients to stay at home as they age and improve their quality of life by providing safe and convenient in-home medical care. House calls also help reduce overall healthcare costs and patients experience a decrease in the number of hospitalizations and emergency room visits. 

Visiting Physician’s clinical staff is comprised of 8 physicians and 28 nurse practitioners and physician assistants, who work as a team serving 3,400 active patients throughout Bergen, Passaic, Union, Essex, Middlesex, eastern Somerset, Monmouth, and Ocean Counties.  Comprehensive care includes treating serious illnesses and managing chronic conditions as well as conducting in-home diagnostic testing.  Advanced care planning and palliative care can also be provided for those with life limiting illnesses.

Mr. Binder comments, “With people living longer and the aging population continuing to grow, it’s very likely the demand for house call physicians will grow.  I feel strongly that house call medicine for the frail/elderly population is a superior healthcare model, and we are excited to be partnering with Aetna on this important initiative.”

About VNA Health Group

Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) Health Group is the second largest independent, nonprofit provider of home-based health services in New Jersey and Mid-Central Ohio. Founded over 105 years ago with a mission to care for the community, today VNA Health Group helps individuals and families achieve their best level of health and well-being by providing high quality, compassionate home health, hospice, palliative and community-based care and offers private-pay personal care services. A full range of primary care services are available through the VNACJ Community Health Centers. Currently, VNA Health Group employs nearly 2,500 people and cares for over 150,000 individuals and families annually with a special focus on vulnerable populations such as children, older adults and those with serious and disabling chronic illness. Our unique partnership model with health systems leverages our clinical and technical resources to operate VNA of Central Jersey Home Care and Hospice, Robert Wood Johnson Visiting Nurses, VNA of Englewood, Barnabas Health Home Care and Hospice, Visiting Physician Services, and Visiting Nurse Association of Ohio.  For more information about VNA Health Group and the VNAHG Foundation please call 800.862.3330, visit www.vnahg.org and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/VNAHealthGroup or @VNAHealthGroup.

About Parker Advanced Care Institute at VNAHG, Inc.

Parker Health Group and VNA Health Group have recently partnered to launch the Parker Advanced Care Institute at VNAHG, Inc. (PACI). PACI is dedicated to helping patients with late-stage chronic illnesses stay at home comfortably with support from family, a visiting physician and palliative care team. The goal of the PACI is to educate clinicians, communities, patients and their families on best practices in chronic disease, palliative and hospice care. It was created to increase awareness about the challenges we face in long-term and home-based primary care. A key aspect of the PACI is Visiting Physician Services (VPS), a home-based primary care practice for older adult and homebound patients whose mission is to enable patients to stay at home as they age with an improved quality of life. Another component of the PACI is our Palliative Care Program which is an individualized approach to addressing physical, emotional, cultural and spiritual needs of patients and families facing a serious or life-limiting illness. For more information about the Parker Advanced Care Institute at VNAHG visit www.vnahg.org or call 732-571-1000.