Independent Perspective 1756 with Sarah DiMayo on the people who can benefit from the Healthy Living Program.

Host: Welcome to Independent Perspective, a public affairs presentation of Western New York Independent Living (WNYIL). Our guest today is Sarah DiMayo, the Healthy Living Specialist at WNYIL, and I'm your host, Ernie Churchwell. Welcome to the program, Sarah.

Guest: Thank you, Ernie. Thank you for having me.

Host: It's our pleasure. Your program has been around for a relatively short time, how long has Healthy Living been doing its thing here?

Guest: So, with WNYIL, we just started actually accepting referrals in May, so it is pretty new.

Host: WNYIL is one of several organizations which do it, courtesy of a particular insurance program. Can you tell us about that?

Guest: Yes, so the insurance program that works with Western New York Integrated Care Collaborative that provides us with the referrals is Independent Health.

Host: Sounds terrific. Who is the core audience of your program?

Guest: Individuals in need of any services in the community that the programs offer, anyone with Independent Health insurance. They can call the insurance to see if they qualify for any of the programs. Right now, the programs that we are running at WNYIL that I'm able to implement are a Falls Prevention Program, a Caregiver program, a Community Health Coaching Program and Healthy Ideas.

Host: If someone feels they can benefit from a Healthy Living program but are not already connected with Independent Health, is that something you can assist them with?

Guest: So, if they're interested in the program, I would always encourage them to go to the Western New York Integrated Care Collaborative website, see if there is anything that they may be interested in being a part of on their website and reaching out to their contact information there to see if they offer anything outside of Independent Health insurance.

Host: And one thing which probably comes to people's mind, is there a cost to the participants for being in this program?

Guest: That is one of the wonderful things about the program or any of the programs, there is no cost. It is all through Independent Health insurance, so no one is billed anything for this.

Host: Well, that fits nicely with the other WNYIL programs, except for a few things like transportation to go shopping or see Aunt Fred, Aunt Molly, I should say. There's no charge for any of the counseling or similar services, so the question comes to mind is the first step for someone that wants to participate in the program, talking to our intake department or going directly to the Collaboratives website?

Guest: If you're not sure if your insurance covers the programs, if you have Independent Health insurance and you're not sure if they cover the programs, I actually would recommend going right to your insurance company. There should be a number on your insurance card to contact. Call them and talk to a representative and ask them about the programs that they would be able to see under your insurance plan. If you do qualify for any of the programs that are offered, you can go to the Western New York Integrated Care Collaborative website to see a specific name of a program. So that when you are on the phone with your insurance, you could ask them about a specific program to verify your ability to participate.

Host: Alright. If people have questions about whether they can participate in program are those questions that you can answer or do they need to go to someone else?

Guest: I'm not able to refer anyone into the program. I just accept referrals at the moment, so I would encourage you to reach out to your Independent Health insurance again. Just to see if you do qualify for any of the programs, if there are any questions about the program, if the Integrated Care Collaborative website doesn't answer, I would be open to answering any questions about any of the programs that I implement that someone may be interested in. But first things first is to see if you even qualify for the program. I would call the insurance company just to verify that.

Host: Would you believe we're already out of time? I'm sure people will have questions. How can they reach you?

Guest: They could reach me by email, which is sdimayo@wnyil.org

Host: Terrific. Thank you so much for being with us today.

Guest: Thank you, Ernie.

Host: You've been listening to Independent Perspective, a public affairs presentation of WNYIL. Our guest today has been Sarah DiMayo, Healthy Living Specialist at WNYIL, and I've been your host, Ernie Churchwell.