Health insurer Centene will be partnering with the Catholic hospital system Ascension to set up a Medicare Advantage plan for low-income seniors, the companies announced Monday.
The plan is coming at a time when the Trump administration is expanding the types of services that Medicare Advantage plans are allowed to provide, including healthy home-delivered meals, air conditioners for beneficiaries with asthma, and rides to medical appointments.
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Centene and Ascension, both of which are based in St. Louis, signed a letter of intent to pursue their plan, which would need to be approved by board members from both companies. The Medicare Advantage plan would be sold beginning in 2020.
Ascension is the largest Catholic hospital system in the U.S., and has 153 hospitals as well as 50 senior living facilities. Centene tends to partner with government entities to deliver health insurance, including through the Obamacare exchanges and the Medicaid program, which covers low-income people.
“This joint venture will bring together two leaders with decades of experience across markets and creates an opportunity for scaled payer-provider collaboration,” Michael Neidorff, chairman and CEO of Centene, said in a statement. “We share a commitment of serving the underserved and intend to leverage the best capabilities of both organizations to provide high quality, affordable healthcare to support the needs of low-income seniors.”
People in the U.S. who are 65 and older can get traditional Medicare plans or Medicare Advantage plans. The latter are private health insurance companies that contract with the federal government to provide additional medical services, such as dental, vision, or wellness.
About a third of the 61 million people on Medicare in the U.S. have a Medicare Advantage plan.
Anthony Tersigni, Ascension’s president and CEO, said that the companies would develop an “innovative” and “transformational” approach.
“Working with Centene to create a new Medicare Advantage plan aligns with our mission of serving those who are vulnerable and struggling the most, which all too often includes our seniors,” he said.
