Bringing relief for Luka: From hospital stays to at-home infusion care

Luka is a child managing pediatric Crohn's disease. His care team prescribed Remicade, an infusion therapy he received at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin every few weeks. For most kids, a school day is just a school day. For Luka, treatment day meant packing an overnight bag and missing class, on top of everything else that comes with managing a chronic condition at a young age.

The challenge

Every Remicade infusion required a trip to the hospital, and every trip meant a missed day of school. The disruption, however, did not stay contained to the appointment itself. It reached into Luka's routine, his classroom time, and the rhythm of family life at home. For a young child, that kind of recurring interruption adds up fast, both for the patient and for the parents coordinating around it.

The Leap solution

Luka's family is covered through an employer-sponsored health plan, and that is how they connected with Leap. A Leap Care Guide worked directly with Luka's family and his prescribing physician to move his infusions home. A registered nurse was assigned as Luka's dedicated infusion nurse for every visit, so the same clinician who knew his history and his routine showed up each time.

Patient impact

Since moving treatment home, Luka has had zero missed school days. He gets his infusion, then goes back to being a kid: relaxing, video chatting with friends, getting on with his day instead of losing it.

"Getting his infusions at home meant no more packing a hospital bag or missing school," Luka's parent says. "He can relax, video chat with friends, and just be a kid. It's not a big deal anymore. We get his meds, and off we go!"

Employer impact

The same shift that gave Luka his school days back also removed a hidden cost from his employer's health plan. Hospital-administered infusion drugs are typically billed under a buy-and-bill model, where the hospital marks up the drug itself, often steeply, and bundles that markup into a single claim the employer cannot itemize. 

By coordinating Luka's Remicade infusions, Leap removed that markup at the source. The result: $6,602 in annual drug savings for his employer's health plan, with no change to Luka's coverage, his prescriber, or his plan of care.

The patient experience drives employer outcomes

Better patient experiences and stronger employer outcomes are correlated. Patients who stay engaged with a Care Guide are more likely to complete treatment and manage their condition, and that shows up on the employer side as:

• Claims savings
• Steadier attendance
• Fewer benefits questions landing on HR’s desk

Leap’s internal analysis has found that Care Guide support saves members close to three hours per treatment, which is time they would otherwise spend chasing authorizations and sitting in waiting rooms.

Check out our blog post to learn more about the value of the patient experience.

The takeaway

A missed school day and a hidden markup often come from the same root cause: where and how a specialty drug gets billed. Moving Luka's care home fixed both at once.

If your plan has members managing pediatric or chronic specialty conditions, a claims-based savings analysis can show you where the same opportunity is hiding in your own data. 

Request a savings analysis to see what it could mean for your plan.

Additional impact stories

Dave’s story is unique, but he is one of many patients who have benefitted from Leap. Check out some other patient stories by clicking either of the tiles below. 

• Infusion care without the road trip
• Infusion care that keeps families together
• Bringing relief home for Annie