Health Net® Collaborates with Canary Health® to offer Free Online Caregiver Support Program

Building Better Caregivers® provides peer-to-peer education and emotional support through a free online program for unpaid family and friend caregivers

LOS ANGELES, March 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Canary Health®, a leader in peer-led digital therapeutics, today announced a collaboration with Health Net®, one of California's most experienced health plans and a wholly owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation, to provide an evidence-based, online, six-week, peer-to-peer education and support program for caregivers. The Building Better Caregivers® (BBC) program digitally supports caregivers to improve their and care recipients' outcomes. The program is available to commercial and marketplace members, including all employees at companies who offer Health Net coverage as an option, regardless of which health plan the employee ultimately selects.

This collaboration illustrates Health Net and Canary Health's commitment and support of the health and wellbeing of unpaid caregivers who are caring for a friend or family members with dementia, memory problems, chronic health conditions or serious injuries. Interested caregivers who qualify can sign up here.

"The role of caregivers is not only vital, but irreplaceable, as they provide the kind of personalized, compassionate care that often transcends the capabilities of even the most sophisticated medical technologies," said Commercial Officer at Health Net, Colin Havert. "Recognizing, supporting, and empowering caregivers is a key step towards creating a holistic, robust and truly caring health care system. We are proud to collaborate with Canary Health to offer this free support for these selfless individuals."

More than 19,000 family caregivers have engaged in Canary Health's Building Better Caregivers program. Participants, in both research and real-world offerings of BBC have reported:

• Improved ability to support their loved ones struggling with chronic health and/or mental health condition; and
• Increased confidence to accomplish goals important to their health and to their roles as caregivers; and
• Reduced stress, better health behaviors and more positive outcomes for their care partners.

"Forty-nine percent of caregivers say their mental health has suffered, and the CDC reports caregivers are at an increased risk for having multiple chronic diseases as they may neglect their own personal health needs," said Katy Plant, MPH, General Manager at Canary Health. "Left unsupported, caregivers themselves are more likely to become patients, further straining an already strained healthcare system. We applaud Health Net's commitment to being in the vanguard of the growing movement to support this vital resource which forms the foundation of healthcare."

The BBC program includes methods to improve caregiver's health by offering strategies to support managing emotions, stress and difficult care-partner behaviors. It also provides caregivers with resources to support problem solving, goal setting and resource identification. The program emphasizes the importance of clear communication with health professionals, navigating healthcare systems, managing medications and planning for the future.

"Family caregivers play many roles in the care for their loved ones, which compound the physical and financial strain on themselves, their care recipient, the healthcare system, and our economy. This often leads to absenteeism at work, and eventually many are forced to leave the workforce." says Chairman of the Board and Chief Medical Officer at Canary Health, Neal Kaufman, MD, MPH. "By offering the Building Better Caregivers program broadly to their population, Health Net is investing to improve the health outcomes of the caregiver population and the care partner, while decreasing absenteeism and attrition for the employers that carry Health Net as a benefit option."

By leveraging the power of peers, the Building Better Caregivers program offers participants the opportunity to learn from others and from trained facilitators that currently are, or have been, caregivers themselves.

Canary Health is available to more than 500,000 Health Net members who are covered via their employer or Covered California.

Organizations that would like to learn more about the BBC program can email [email protected].  Eligible caregivers can learn more and register to participate here.

The program is also available in Spanish.

About Canary Health®
Canary Health, a leader in peer-led digital therapeutics, offers evidence-based programs that empower caregivers and individuals with chronic conditions to better self-manage their health and their lives. Since 2013, Canary Health has worked to reach unpaid caregivers to provide the Building Better Caregivers program nationally to caregivers of sick and wounded veterans from all eras, as well as non-veteran caregivers. We work with the largest healthcare organizations in North America to offer our programs, including health plans, employers, health systems, and public health departments. Building Better Caregivers is on the list of Best Practice Caregiving for family caregivers certified by the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging and the Family Caregiving Alliance. Available in English and Spanish.

About Health Net®
Founded in California more than 40 years ago, Health Net, a wholly owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation, believes that every person deserves a safety net for their health, regardless of age, income, employment status or current state of health. Today, we provide health plans for individuals, families, businesses of every size and people who qualify for Medi-Cal or Medicare. Together with our 90,000 network providers, Health Net serves three million members across the state. We also offer access to substance abuse programs, behavioral health services, employee assistance programs and managed health care products related to prescription drugs. We make these health plans and services available through Health Net, LLC and its subsidiaries: Health Net of California, Inc., Health Net Life Insurance Company and Health Net Community Solutions, Inc. These entities are wholly owned subsidiaries of Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC), a leading healthcare enterprise committed to transforming the health of the communities we serve, one person at a time. Health Net employs more than 6,300 people in California who work at one of five regional Talent Hub offices. For more information, visit www.HealthNet.com.

Media Contacts:

Canary Health
Mary Barbato
[email protected]

Health Net
Michelle Jelacic
[email protected]

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SOURCE Canary Health