After a successful pilot project in Newark — built largely around community health workers who visited people at home to help address medical and social concerns — and nearly a year of planning, New Jersey’s largest health insurer was ready to expand the initiative to reach 24,000 vulnerable patients in 11 counties.

Then came the coronavirus, and with it, new precautions and restrictions designed to contain the spread of COVID-19. Those pandemic protocols made it impossible for the company, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, to roll out the program as planned.

But the viral outbreak also underscored the importance of the program itself, Horizon officials note, so they decided to press forward — with modifications.

Read more at NJ Spotlight.