CareSource is a nonprofit that began as a managed health care plan serving Medicaid members in Ohio. Today, it provides public health care programs including Medicaid, Medicare, and Marketplace. The company is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio. It is the largest Medicaid plan in Ohio and second largest in the United States. In 2016, the company had more than 1.5 million members in four states.
History
CareSource was founded in Dayton, Ohio by a group of concerned community leaders with the goal of expanding health care for underserved populations. The plan was originally called the Dayton Area Health Plan (DAHP) which was incorporated by three hospital CEOs and located its first headquarters in the offices of the Dayton Hospital Association. Pamela Morris became the company's first CEO, and has led the company since the beginning. DAHP began with a $500,000 grant from the state of Ohio to address a growing issue with the health care problems of low income citizens.
Led by Pamela Morris, the company dealt with several regulatory hurdles from 1987 to 1989 from the Ohio Department of Insurance. The DAHP had to raise funds, secure an HMO license and obtain a federal waiver allowing the company to operate solely as a mandatory enrollment plan. The DAHP would become the first mandatory Medicaid managed care program in 1989 In 1993 the federal waiver would expire and in order to allow the organization to continue (rather than maintain a mandatory 75/25 ratio of mandatory and voluntary enrollees) Congressional action would be required. This meant that at that time, 25% of the plan's members could not be on Medicaid or Medicare. It overcame these hurdles when U.S. Congressman Dave Hobson intervened on its behalf to gain an exception for the DAHP.
In 1996, the DAHP expanded into the Columbus market with their Medicaid plan by buying the plan United Healthcare was administering. With this expansion, the Dayton Area Health Plan became the largest Medicaid HMO in Ohio. The plan in Columbus kept its previous name, MedPlan. In 1997, the plan acquired Butler Health Plan and gained 6,000 more members in Butler County. During this time, all plans operated by the Dayton Area Health plan kept their regional names.
In the year 2000, DAHP consolidated all its health plans under one name â€" CareSource. In this year, the company had about 70,000 members. By 2003 that number exceeded 320,000.
In 2004, the organization was ranked the sixth-largest Medicaid managed care plan in the United States by Interstudy. Also in 2004, the company's training program-CareSource University opened to educate employees and keep service standards high.
In 2006, desiring to support surrounding non-profits, CareSource established the CareSource Foundation. The Foundation collaborates with non-profits who share in the mission of serving the underserved. It has awarded a total of 693 grants to non-profit organizations so far. In this same year when the economy was down in Dayton, Ohio and major employers like National Cash Register, General Motors, and Delphi closed or left town. In 2007 employment in the area remained weak, but CareSource saw business growth and became the only Medicaid Managed Care provider to offer services in all 88 counties in Ohio. That year CareSource broke ground on its new corporate headquarters in Downtown Dayton, showing the company's commitment to the city it was founded in. The project was the largest urban building development in Ohio at the time. Construction was completed in 2009 on the $55 million corporate headquarters at the corner of Main Street and Monument Avenue in downtown Dayton. The 300,000-square-foot, 9-story building is downtown's first new office tower since before 2000. The building's Architect was BHDP Architecture.
By 2010, the company was the third largest Medicaid HMO in the country, with $2.5 billion in revenue and 800,000 members across Ohio and Michigan. In 2010, CareSource announced expansion of its provider network in Southeastern Ohio through a partnership with Quality Care Partners (QCP), a physician-hospital organization (PHO).
In 2012, the company announced a partnership with Humana. This partnership worked to serve dual-eligible populations, or individuals who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid in Ohio. In October 2012, the company expanded into Kentucky Medicaid with Humana, where the plan was known as Humana - CareSource.
In 2013, CareSource announced that it would move some employees to a second office at 40 West Second Street in Downtown Dayton. 200 employees were relocated to that building, across from the Schuster Center in Dayton while others remained in the headquarters building a few blocks away.
CareSource was the third largest company in the Dayton Area in 2013, behind AK Steel and Speedway, ranked by total revenue. From 2011 to 2012, the company’s revenue grew 21.43 percent to $3.4 billion. CareSource’s percent growth was more than double the average revenue growth of the other 99 largest Dayton companies in that time frame. After the passing of the Affordable Care Act, CareSource worked with provider partners in 2013 to create an affordable option for Ohioans. They entered the Health Insurance Exchange and created a product which allowed the company to enter the commercial insurance market.
In 2014, MyCare Ohio was launched to integrate Medicare and Medicaid benefits. CareSource used this opportunity to create a plan which assimilates both Medicaid and Medicare into one CareSource health plan. The company would exceed 2,000 employees and occupy the offices in three buildings in downtown Dayton by the end of the year. The company also announced plans to expand into the health insurance marketplaces of Kentucky and Indiana. The constant growth that CareSource experienced with healthcare reform and Medicaid expansion made it the third largest company in the Dayton area again in 2014.
CareSource celebrated 25 years as one of the nation's largest Managed Medicaid Plans and the largest in Ohio in 2014. The company then served more than 1 million consumers in Ohio and Kentucky.
In late 2014 and early 2015 a new division of CareSource was launched to address the other unmet needs of the company’s Ohio Medicaid population. The division, CareSource Life Services, began working with members in the Dayton-area. Through a partnership with Fuyao Glass America, the company was able to set up interviews for 40 members for full-time employment with the manufacturing company. However, Life Services was not meant to be just a job center, it was meant to provide a number of resources. Karin VanZant, the cofounder and executive director of Think Tank, was hired to oversee the program. Under VanZant’s leadership, the program grew to address other aspects that contribute to a person’s health including their housing and economic stability. According to the Dayton Business Journal, this new approach informed the way CareSource began to see its members. The company began looking at how the Medicaid and social services aspects could be connected and coordinated to improve the wellness of members.
In 2016, CareSource began serving members in West Virginia through its health exchange product and was awarded the contract to serve Medicaid populations in Indiana and Georgia, extending the company's geographic reach. The growth in membership was matched by growth in the number of employees. This resulted in the need for additional office space near the company headquarters in Dayton. A lease was signed for some employees to move into space on two floors of the Kettering Tower in downtown Dayton to make room for a total of 2,200 employees in the city. To fill the company’s long-term need for additional space, CareSource announced in October 2016 that the company would build a new 7-story office building in downtown Dayton. The new building would provide space for 900 employees and create a campus-like environment in the urban core. The new office, CareSource Center City, would be located at First and Jefferson streets and be the first new high-rise in downtown Dayton since the company’s headquarters opened in 2008.
CareSource passed AK Steele to become the second largest company by revenue in the Dayton-area. In 2015, the company had $6.96 billion in revenue, a 29% increase from the previous year.
The CareSource Foundation also celebrated its 10th Anniversary of giving back to the communities that the company serves in 2016. Over ten years, the Foundation gave more than $14.5 million in grants to over 1,000 different organizations throughout Ohio. In 2016 alone, the CareSource Foundation invested more than $2.8 million in 147 nonprofits to strengthen the network of health and human service organizations.
About CareSource
CareSource is a nonprofit health plan providing member-centric health care coverage to a wide variety of consumers in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Georgia and West Virginia. CareSource is one of the nation's largest Medicaid managed care plans, but today also offers a lifetime of health coverage to more than 1.5 million members including offerings on the Health Insurance Marketplace and Medicare Advantage plans.
Headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, CareSource has a workforce of 3,100 employees. CareSource is living its mission to make a lasting difference in its members' lives by improving their health and well-being. CareSource understands the challenges consumers face navigating the health system and works to put health care in reach for those it serves.
Awards and recognition
CareSource has won numerous awards and recognition.[1] CareSource was named the sixth-largest and second-fastest-growing Medicaid managed care plan in the nation by Interstudy. In 2010, CareSource was named one of Training Magazine’s Top 125 companies for the first time. The company has made the list in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 as well, most recently being ranked 28.
The Pinnacle Awards recognize the efforts of health plans to improve the quality of health care for Ohioans. CareSource has won three Pinnacle Awards from the Ohio Association of Health Plans for best practices and innovative programs.
- Care4U Case Management Program (2013)
- Medication Therapy Program (2013)
- Life Services Program (2016)
Service area
CareSource has five offices, its headquarters in Dayton is spread across four buildings while satellite offices exist in Atlanta, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, and Louisville. The company serves consumers in Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia.
References
External links
- CareSource main page
