When Medicare’s open
enrollment period opens on Oct. 15, seniors who are choosing a Medicare
Advantage plan in Osceola and Seminole counties will see a new insurance
company among their options.
Devoted
Health, a new health-care company, is offering two Medicare Advantage plans for
the first time and only in eight counties in Central and South Florida. Both
plans are HMOs with a narrow network of primary care providers and a larger
network of specialists and hospitals.
The
company’s Central Florida plans will include Orlando Health,
Central Florida Regional Hospital and Osceola Regional Medical Center and a
handful of independent doctors as in-network providers.
“Our philosophy of network is different from
many other plans,” said Dariel Quintana, company’s Florida market president.
“We believe in networks that include a robust network of hospitals and
specialists and have a hand-selected smaller network of primary care physicians
who have experience in providing better health outcomes.”
Founded
in 2017, the Massachusetts-based Devoted Health is among a small crop of
venture-backed startups such as Clover and Bright Health, targeting the growing
aging population.
Total
Medicare spending is expected to grow from $583 billion in 2018 to $1.3
trillion in 2028, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The reasons are an
aging population, the growth of Medicare enrollment due to baby boomer
generation reaching the age of eligibility and increase in health care costs,
according to the foundation.
“We're Silicon Valley
meets health care meets insurance. We're not Silicon Valley trying to impose
Silicon Valley onto health care.”— Dariel Quintana, Devoted Health
Devoted
Health was founded by brothers Ed and Todd Park, who co-founded Athenahealth, a
cloud-based practice management and electronic health records systems. Its
chief of technology D.J. Patil is the former U.S. Chief Data Scientist.
“We're
Silicon Valley meets health care meets insurance,” said Quintana. “We're not
Silicon Valley trying to impose Silicon Valley onto health care.”
Quintana
said the company uses cutting-edge technology and customer service that
includes nurses and social workers to provide seamless care for members.
“We’re
an extension of the primary care provider. For example, this member is sick and
they don't have transportation of their own and they take care of grandkids at
3 p.m, so we better get them to the doctor right now. So our guide is empowered
to pick up the phone to call the primary care doctor, call transportation
company and figure out how can we take care of this patients. It's all about
execution.”
Dr.
Wanda Berrios-Diaz, a physician with VIPcare, a large independent practice group
that’s part of Devoted Health’s network and provides care to Medicare patients
only, said she liked the company’s philosophy of care for the elderly
population.
“This
population get stressed and anxious when they don't have referrals. And
[Devoted Health] takes care of that,” she said.
Devoted
Health received its Florida license to offer Medicare Advantage plans in
earlier this month. It’s offering plans in Broward, Hillsborough, Miami-Dade,
Osceola, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Polk and Seminole counties.
nmiller@orlandosentinel.com,
321-436-9205, Twitter; Instagram; Facebook; LinkedIn.
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