The
Southern California-based Medicare Advantage plan, Alignment Health plan, will
offer members concierge and social determinants of health benefits in 2020.
October 02,
2019 - Alignment Health Plan will offer qualified Medicare Advantage
members concierge services and social determinants of health benefits in 2020.
The Southern
California-based Medicare Advantage plan will offer its members the ability to
access board-certified doctors from video or telephone on-demand, day or night,
through the ACCESS program. The ACCESS On-Demand Concierge program provides
members a dedicated concierge team and a “black card” that can be used as a
debit card for eligible items.
“Alignment’s ACCESS
On-Demand Concierge is evolving as health care consumers’ expectations become
more sophisticated,” John Kao, CEO of Alignment Healthcare said in an
earlier press release. “We purposely built
Alignment to provide seniors the care and service they deserve, and we are
delighted to be able to give them peace of mind that all their health care
needs will be taken care of.”
Dig Deeper
As many Medicare Advantage members struggle
to access specialized providers because of functional limitations getting to
appointments, the telehealth abilities of ACCESS will help ensure these members
have access to qualified medical professionals whenever they need it. The
concierge services will assist members in navigating their eligible benefits
and coverage.
Alignment Health Plan
is also following in the footsteps of many health plans in addressing the social determinants of
health of their members. The social determinants of health are the non-clinical
factors that impact an individual's health, such as the environment,
transportation, and economics.
Three new benefits to
qualified Alignment Medicare Advantage members aim to address social
determinants of health: transportation to appointments, grocery benefit, and
companion care.
Ridesharing companies
such as Uber and Lyft will be used to bring members to and from their scheduled
medical appointments.
The grocery benefit
will provide members with a monthly allowance to buy groceries at participating
stores, including CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart. The allowance is automatically
uploaded onto member’s “black cards” which can be used as a debit card to
purchase items at over 50,000 retailers.
The companion care
benefit Alignment will connect members with college students who can help with
non-medical tasks such as household chores and technology lessons. In addition
to routine tasks, the college students offer elderly members general companion
care, which the plan refers to as “grandkids on-demand.”
Alignment is
identifying members eligible for these programs through medical records,
particularly emphasizing members with diabetes and other chronic conditions.
The organization is using artificial intelligence to doctors and other
healthcare providers with real-time analytics for their members. The aim of
leveraging this technology is to help providers predict which patients need
care so that care can be delivered earlier because a proactive approach to
treatment can lead to better patient outcomes and cost-savings.
In addition to
expanding the coverage offerings, Alignment Healthcare is expanding its
network. Their plans will now cover eight new counties in the greater Sacramento
and Bay areas targeting over 860,000 Medicare-eligible individuals. This
expanded network includes six new HMO plans and four new PPO plans.
Several of the plan
offerings include nearly 500 commonly used generic drugs with a $0 copay and
coverage of prescription drugs not typically covered by Medicare.
These improved plan
benefits and plan options across a broader network are a part of Alignment’s
strategy to appeal to a larger market of Medicare Advantage members during
Medicare’s annual election period which runs from October 15 to December 7.
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