From Groceries to “Grandkids On-Demand,” Alignment Healthcare Gives Millions of Seniors Access to New Benefits This Open Enrollment Season

Health Policy and Law Daily

2019 OCT 10 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health Policy and Law Daily -- Alignment Healthcare, a mission-based Medicare Advantage insurance company founded in 2013, announced it will debut new, socially conscious benefits and services for seniors this open enrollment season such as “grandkids on-demand” and monthly grocery allowances. These benefits are designed to address a critical challenge for seniors known as “social determinants of health” - social factors that evidence-based research shows directly impede clinical outcomes.

“Alignment was founded on my own family’s struggle to find good coordinated care for my mother, who like so many in our senior population today tackle chronic conditions as they age,” said John Kao, CEO, Alignment Healthcare. “For 2020, we are expanding our plan offerings beyond the core benefits around prescription drugs and round-the-clock concierge service that our members have come to expect from Alignment. In 2020, we have added benefits designed to address social factors such as food instability and loneliness that directly impact health outcomes. Doing so is an integral part of our mission to solve for critical gaps in health care and coordinate the best care possible for our members.”

Alignment’s 2020 plan choices include benefits that directly assist seniors with the social challenges they face - challenges including food insecurity, loneliness and lack of transportation that often worsen chronic medical conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. New features of Alignment’s plan options in the 2020 Medicare enrollment season, which runs Oct. 15-Dec. 7, 2019, include: “Grandkids On-Demand” - To help solve the growing loneliness epidemic, Alignment offers a companion care benefit on certain plans that connects college students with qualifying members who need assistance with non-medical services such as light housekeeping, technology lessons and general companionship. These “grandkids on-demand” are available to meet with members for up to two hours a day. Monthly Grocery Benefit - To address food insecurity, a $10-$20 per month monthly grocery benefit for qualifying members of certain plans to buy eligible groceries at participating stores such as CVS, Walmart and Walgreens. Transportation Services via Uber and Lyft - Depending on the plan, free “on-demand” transportation to doctor appointments using Uber and Lyft.

These plan benefits join Alignment’s award-winning pharmacy services1, which include: Hundreds of Generic Drugs at $0 Copay - Nearly 500 commonly used generic drugs such as metformin for diabetes and lisinopril for hypertension available at no copay for most plans. Coverage of Prescription Medicines Not Typically Covered by Medicare - These include generic Viagra and prescription vitamins B-12 and D.

“We’re thrilled to provide this level of comprehensive support to our members,” said Dawn Maroney, consumer president at Alignment Healthcare. “Equally important is the 24/7 personal, concierge-level service we provide to every single member to help navigate these benefits. Our care team - backed by a sophisticated analytics engine - also remotely monitors every member’s health data every 30 minutes, identifying needed and often life-saving care interventions for events such as dips in oxygen levels to missed medication pickups. For our members, it’s as close to having a doctor in your family as possible.”

Alignment’s ACCESS On-Demand Concierge program introduced this year is a category first, providing Alignment Health Plan members a single phone number to a personal concierge who can connect them to a board-certified doctor by phone or video, schedule medical appointments, arrange transportation and answer health care questions? 24 hours a day, seven days a week. With ACCESS On-Demand Concierge, members also receive a special “black card” that can be used as a debit card to buy eligible items at more than 50,000 retailers across the country.

Starting on Jan. 1, 2020, Alignment is doubling its California footprint with expansion into eight greater Sacramento and Bay Area counties, where more than 862,000 Medicare recipients live2: Marin, Placer, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Sonoma and Yolo. More than 5.3 million Medicare-eligible individuals live in Alignment’s full service area, which also includes Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Joaquin, Santa Clara and Stanislaus counties. In these markets, Alignment offers health maintenance organization (HMO), preferred provider organization (PPO) and HMO special needs plan (HMO SNP) options. ABOUT ALIGNMENT HEALTHCARE Alignment Healthcare is redefining the business of health care by shifting the focus from payments to people. We’ve created a new model for health care delivery that cuts costs and improves lives by unraveling the inefficiencies of the current system to drive patients, providers and payers toward a common goal of wellness. Harnessing best practices from Medicare Advantage, our innovative data-management technology allows us to commit to caring for seniors and those who need it most: the chronically ill and frail. With offices and care centers across the country, Alignment Healthcare provides partners and patients with customized care and service where they need it and when they need it, including clinical coordination, risk management and technology facilitation. Alignment Healthcare offers health plan options to California residents through Alignment Health Plan, and partners with select health plans in North Carolina and Florida to help deliver better benefits at lower costs. For more information, please visit www.alignmenthealthcare.com. 1 Alignment Healthcare Earns Excellence in Quality Award for Pharmacy Services, https://www.alignmenthealthcare.com/newsroom/alignment-healthcare-earns-excellence-in-quality-award-for-pharmacy-services/ 2 Medicare enrollment as of July 2019, https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/CMSProgramStatistics/Dashboard.html View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191001005064/en/