CHENANGO COUNTY – A newly incorporated Medicaid health care plan available in Chenango County is offering residents with longterm illnesses and disabilities new options when it comes to at-home care.

Launched in December by a group of 17 community-based organizations including the Southern Tier Independence Center, the new plan – called iCircle Care – provides health and social services in 22 counties across the western, central, and southern regions of New York State. As a managed longterm care organization, iCircle works with a variety of members in its network to streamline services to adults who are at least 18 years of age and chronically ill or disabled but wish to stay in their homes and communities.

“iCircle is all about hometown care and service,” explained Dr. Henry Paszko, iCircle President and CEO. As a nonprofit care organization, iCircle can tailer its services specifically to meet the needs of the individual, said Paszko. Moreover, he said it sources from a network of more than 2,000 health and social service providers to offer a variety of care services.

Paszko added that since iCircle is a managed care system, it is able to coordinate provision and ensure quality care and services for its members through a wide network of contracted providers. “It’s the entire gamut of what’s necessary for a person to stay in their home,” he said.

With the recent push in Albany to reform Medicaid, Paszko said programs like iCircle Care are a good way of providing local care to people who want to stay within their own community. “Not only are the healthcare providers local, but the care givers, care managers, and nurses are also local,” he added. “It’s very much about neighbors helping neighbors,” he added.

iCircle currently has three major hubs in the cities of Binghamton, Syracuse and Rochester. The Southern Tier Independence Center partnered with iCircle when it was first rolled out last month. Southern Tier Independence Center Executive Director Maria Dibble cited the benefits of a local organization providing local care.

“We are really happy about it because we think it brings a new option to the Southern Tier area with services that are hometown grown,” Dibble said. “They bring a focus of community-based care to make sure consumers can stay in their home. It really brings more of a hometown feel to the services.”

Enrollment in iCircle is open and rolling, and individuals may apply at any time. Members must be determined eligible for managed longterm care and require at least one of the following services for more than 120 days:

• Nursing services in the home