Cleveland Clinic, Humana Medicare Advantage plan to be expanded to Summit, Medina counties

Oct. 01--Medicare Advantage health insurance co-branded by the Cleveland Clinic and Humana will be available for the first time outside of Cuyahoga County to four additional counties, including Summit and Medina.

The announcement came Monday, the first day Medicare Advantage providers are allowed to market their plans. Yearly open enrollment begins Oct. 15, and the plans take effect Jan. 1.

The Clinic and Humana on Monday said the co-branded $0 premium enhanced Humana Cleveland Clinic Preferred HMO Medicare Plan also will be available for the first time to residents of Lake and Lorain counties. The plan was launched last year for people with Medicare in Cuyahoga County.

"This collaboration allows us to expand access to our health services to address the health care needs of the communities we serve," said Michael Harrington, Cleveland Clinic Chief Accounting Officer and Controller. "Both of our organizations share a commitment to the community to provide integrated, patient-centered care."

"Humana is excited to join with Cleveland Clinic in announcing these new plan options in northeast Ohio," said Larry Costello, President of Humana Senior Products in Ohio. "We're proud to deepen our relationship with Cleveland Clinic by broadening plan availability in areas outside of Cuyahoga County, and in offering new benefits that focus on the patient experience."

The Northeast Ohio health insurance landscape is an important one as health insurers are expanding their coverage in each other's territories.

In 2017, Akron-based SummaCare announced that it was adding the University Hospitals name to its Medicare managed-care plans in communities where the Cleveland-based health system has hospitals. It was a way for the insurer, which was already in the county and others, to grow its network in counties such as Cuyahoga, Portage, Lorain and Geauga.

On Monday, SummaCare spokeswoman Anne Armao said the health insurer will also be expanding its four Northeast Ohio Medicare Advantage plans for 2019 to include Aultman Hospital and more than 140 providers in the Aultman Medical Group.

SummaCare currently has 71,000 members throughout Ohio, including 24,000 Medicare Advantage customers. The insurer has commercial plan members in about 20 counties in the state and 31 counties with Medicare.

Humana and Cleveland Clinic also offer a second co-branded health care plan, a Medicare Advantage Dual-Eligible Special Needs plan for individuals in Cuyahoga County covered by both Medicare and Medicaid.

Members of both plans will have access to Cleveland Clinic health system's more than 3,500 full-time salaried physicians and researchers, representing 140 medical specialties and subspecialties, as well as independent physicians who are part of the Cleveland Clinic Quality Alliance.

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