In a press conference held last Tuesday, Medco Health Solutions Inc. and Coventry Health Care Inc. have announced that they will team up to see if they can lower health care costs for senior citizens by addressing factors like home safety, diet and medication use. The companies have enthusiastically shared their plans which include conducting a study that would determine if they can reduce hospitalizations for seniors on Medicare.

Teams of Coventry and Medco employees will distinguish patients who are at the most risk for hospitalization, and work with their physicians and other agencies to find factors that can cause poor health. The study will involve around 2,150 seniors in the St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo., areas on Coventry’s Advantra Medicare Advantage Plan. After a year, the rates of hospitalization of the participants will be compared with other seniors enrolled in the Advantra plan.

The companies said rates of hospitalization for seniors over 65 is escalating, and that group is the most at risk for chronic ailments like diabetes and heart disease. Medco said its pharmacists are working with Healthways nurses and health coaches to help newly diagnosed patients manage chronic conditions. St. Louis and Kansas City were selected for the study due to the number of Medicare members, and the similar demographics and health issues of the two cities.