Hometown Healthlooks ahead

When thinking about not-for-profit entities, thoughts of organizations that help animals, children or veterans often come to mind. Rarely does an insurance agency make the list, but in northern Nevada we have that in Hometown Health.

Hometown Health began operation in 1988 as Hospital Health Plan and became Hometown Health Plan in 1996. Hometown Health is the only locally-owned not-for-profit health insurance company in northern Nevada.

The organization offers one of the largest provider networks in the region. Like its parent company, Renown Health, its mission is to “make a genuine difference in the health and well-being of the people and communities (it) serves.”

As northern Nevada’s oldest and largest managed care organization, Hometown Health, along with its Medicare Advantage program Senior Care Plus, has more than 230 dedicated employees serving over 500 employer groups and 115,000 members.

A major component of the organization is Healthy Tracks, a web-based health and wellness program offering many useful tools to help members take control of their health, and reduce health risks. Healthy Tracks provides members access to health assessments, a food log and meal planner, exercise logs, and wellness workshops.

In addition to Healthy Tracks, Hometown Health has also offered members Motivate U, a six-week boot camp-style fitness challenge to encourage members to live life to their healthiest potential. Various local gyms volunteer their time to offer classes to Hometown Health members for the six-week program and compete against each other for various awards.

Looking to the future, Hometown Health plans to continue its community involvement and encourage people to choose a more healthful and active lifestyle in 2016. To that end, Hometown Health is pleased to support community organizations like The Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows, UNR Athletics, Race 178 and Each One. Tell One.

For the insurance industry, 2015 was a year of acquisitions and mergers. As accountable care organizations continue to evolve and health care shifts from a fee-for-service mentality to a focus on quality, Hometown Health anticipates an acceleration of mergers of scope.

For individuals looking for insurance for 2016, the annual open enrollment period will end Jan. 31, 2016. Hometown Health recommends working with a broker. Brokers are aware of all trends and updates to plans and will provide unbiased advice on what options are best. Plans can also be compared on HometownHealth.com.