Aging and Disability Business Institute Success Stories: 2025 Case Study Series
The Aging and Disability Business Institute (Business Institute) at USAging has released new case studies as part of its Success Stories case study series on building collaborative contracts with health care, highlighting the work of The John A. Hartford Foundation 2024 Business Innovation Award winner and runners-up.
The fifth case study highlights the new publication, The COI Action Plan Template: A Tool for Identification and Review, developed by the Business Institute. The COI Action Plan serves as a step-by-step guide to help Area Agencies on Aging identify, prevent and resolve conflicts of interest in benefits counseling and enrollment assistance programs, including those that host SHIP, MIPPA and SMP.
This tool emphasizes the importance of training and clear procedures to prevent both actual and perceived conflicts of interest, reduce risk and ensure unbiased, high-quality service delivery. The COI Action Plan was developed through a USAging pilot project supported by the National Council on Aging and the U.S. Administration for Community Living.
The fourth case study highlights a pilot partnership between the Bucks County Area Agency on Aging (BCAAA) and the Peninsula Agency on Aging (PAA), featured in the Business Institute’s publication AAAs and Health Plans Partnering in Benefits Counseling and Enrollment. Supported by the National Council on Aging and the U.S. Administration for Community Living, the initiative connected health plan members with benefits counseling and enrollment assistance for programs such as SNAP, MSP, LIS and LIHEAP. Early results demonstrate how collaboration between health plans and AAAs can improve access to vital supports, streamline enrollment processes, and strengthen coordination across aging and healthcare networks.
The third case study is from the 2024 JAHF Business Innovation Award runner-up, ArtWorks in Tucson, AZ, for its person-centered scrapbook-making workshop, Creative Café. The workshop brings together older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their caregivers to create a unique person-centered planning document, which is a necessary health care document for those receiving federal funding.
The second case study is from the 2024 JAHF Business Innovation Award runner-up, Allegheny County Area Agency on Aging in Pittsburgh, PA, for its impactful Community Care Transitions Program. Allegheny County’s evidence-based model—featuring a series of five tailored encounters, including hospital and home visits—has led to a significant drop in hospital readmissions. Their work highlights the value of strong, sustained partnerships with health care entities and the essential role of social support after hospitalization. In 2022 alone, the program completed 1,646 traditional interventions for its largest payor, which translates to an estimated $4.5 million in savings.
The first case study is from Southern Alabama Regional Council on Aging (SARCOA)—the 2024 Award Winner—for its Community Care Solutions population management contract with Southern Clinic, P.C., which provides chronic care and transitions care management for patients of the Statera Accountable Care Organization. This Success Story highlights the key contributions that health coaches can make to a health care management team. As a result, annual wellness visits increased 447% over the first quarter. There was also a 32.7% decrease in emergency room visits for patients and 25.3% decrease in readmission rates.
These stories, part of a Business Institute Success Stories series, also detail the impact of the collaboration and best practices for forming similar partnerships.
Read the COI Action Plan case study.
Read the BCAA and PAA case study.
Read ArtWorks case study.
Read Allegheny County AAA's case study.
Read SARCOA's case study.
Learn more about the Success Stories case study series.
Learn more about JAHF's Business Innovation Award.
Read about past recipients of the Business Innovation Award.
Learn more about the Business Institute.
Learn more about JAHF's co-funding of the Business Institute.
