By Stephanie Stephens, KFF Health News
As Medicare Advantage continues gaining popularity among seniors, three Southern California companies are pioneering new types of plans specific to cultural and ethnic communities, boasting special offerings and native-language practitioners.
Clever Care Health Plan, based in Huntington Beach, and Alignment Health, based in nearby Orange, both have plans aimed at Asian Americans, with extra benefits such as coverage for Eastern medicines and treatments such as cupping and tui na massage. Alignment also has an offering targeting Latinos, while SCAN Health Plan, based in Longe Beach, has a product aimed at the LGBTQ community. All of them have launched since 2020.
While many Medicare Advantage providers target various communities with their advertising, this trio of companies appear to be among the first in the nation to create plans with provider networks and benefits designed for specific cultural cohorts. Medicare Advantage is typically cheaper than traditional Medicare but generally requires patients to use in-network providers.
“This fits me better,” said Clever Care member Tam Pham, 78, a Vietnamese American from Westminster.
Speaking to KFF Health News via an interpreter, Pham said she appreciates the dental care and herbal supplement benefits included in her plan — and especially the access to a Vietnamese-speaking doctor.
“I can always get help when I call, without an interpreter,” she said.
Proponents of these new culturally targeted plans say they can offer not only trusted providers who understand their patients’ unique context and speak their language, but also special products and services designed for their needs. Asian Americans may want coverage for traditional Eastern treatments, for example, while LGBTQ patients might be especially concerned with HIV prevention or management.
But health policy researchers note that Medicare Advantage tends to be lucrative for insurers but can be a mixed…
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