Anthem’s Social Determinants Benefits Package Boosts Medicare Enrollment

Bruce Japsen Senior Contributor Apr 25, 2019, 07:50am

Anthem said new benefits designed to address social determinants of health are attracting seniors and helping grow its Medicare Advantage business.

Anthem chief executive Gail Boudreaux said Wednesday the insurer launched a “social determinants of health benefits package” earlier this year that allows seniors enrolled in its Medicare Advantage plans to get coverage for “healthy meals, transportation, adult day care and in-home personal care.” 

Anthem wouldn’t disclose specific numbers of seniors drawn to the social determinants benefits packages offered in some markets, but said the additional coverage helped increase the insurer’s total Medicare Advantage enrollment in the first quarter by nearly 14% to more than 1.1 million compared to the end of last year.

“Our focus on caring for the whole person is designed to deliver better care and outcomes, reduce costs and ultimately accelerate growth,” Boudreaux told analysts Wednesday during a call to discuss the company’s first quarter earnings. “We are on track to deliver on our full-year Medicare Advantage growth target of greater than 20% and we continue to expect year-end group Medicare Advantage enrollment of nearly 200,000 members.”

The additional benefits offer a glimpse into the future of Medicare Advantage and the kinds of coverage Anthem and rival health insurers will be offering. Anthem is the latest health insurer to show record growth in the number of seniors who are signing up for Medicare Advantage plans, which contract with the federal government to provide extra benefits and services to seniors, such as disease management and nurse help hotlines with some also offering vision, dental care and wellness programs.

But the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is changing regulations to allow Medicare Advantage plans to provide broader coverage, which is expected to accelerate enrollment growth. This year, Medicare Advantage enrollment across the country rose to more than 22 million. Industry analysts see the additional supplemental benefits helping to attract even more seniors to Medicare Advantage with some reports projecting nearly 40 million seniors – or half of the nation’s Medicare population - to be enrolled in such plans within the next five years.

Health insurers are screening patients for “food insecurity” and “loneliness” and experimenting with new benefits that deliver healthy meals or provide transportation to doctor’s appointments. By investing in new ways to address social determinants of health, insurers have said they are trying to make sure patients are getting healthcare in the right place, at the right time and in the right amount. Anthem executives see the additional benefits helping grow its Medicare Advantage business to more seniors in the future. “We're very pleased that CMS has also expanded the level of opportunity that can be offered going into this, the next year's Medicare Advantage selling season,” Boudreaux told analysts.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2019/04/25/anthems-social-determinants-benefits-package-boosts-medicare-enrollment/#24d9f59d17b9