SCAN Health Plan Starts a Medicare Advantage Health Plan for LGBTQ+ Seniors

SCAN Health Plan launched a Medicare Advantage plan for older adults who identify as being part of the LGBTQ+ community.

The payer is working with a digital health platform that pursues integrated virtual care called Included Health.

“A lot of thought and care went into designing the SCAN Affirm product with the goal to provide people in the LGBTQ+ community with a non-discriminatory, quality healthcare experience,” said Jill Selby, senior vice president of product development, marketing, and market expansion for SCAN.

“By combining our expertise in caring for older adults with Included Health’s expertise in serving the LGBTQ+ population, we’re aiming to create a dignified health journey that goes way beyond just benefits. SCAN Affirm offers this growing community not only quality healthcare, but support in other areas of life that are largely unaddressed.”

SCAN Affirm is a health plan designed to serve the specific needs of older adults in the LGBTQ+ community.

The health plan’s partner provides a forum for older adults to access to care management services through concierge-style care and healthcare navigation support. Through the platform, members can find affirming care at a high quality of care. Members can also access on-demand virtual care.

The platform aims to reduce care deferrals in the LGBTQ+ community. Members can receive support with care navigation for their healthcare needs as well as social determinants of health barriers. Care navigation benefits can include peer support and community advocacy.

The health plan offers lower costs for HIV treatments and gender-affirming care. Members will have lower copays for specialty tier drugs.

Members can also receive companionship to reduce loneliness. Loneliness is chronic among Americans and older adult populations are no exception. SCAN Health Plan has established programs in the past to help seniors manage their loneliness and avoid isolation, specifically by giving them access to Peer Advocates.

The Medicare Advantage plan will also help cover legal services. This will enable members to establish a durable power of attorney, create a living will, and execute other goals that require legal counsel.

“Older LGBTQ+ adults, who comprise the first generation to come out, have typically been overlooked and underserved by our healthcare system,” said Sachin Jain, MD, president and chief executive officer of SCAN Group and SCAN Health Plan.

“SCAN Affirm is our way of addressing the unique health and social needs of LGBTQ+ seniors so that they may receive the specialized, quality healthcare they need to age with dignity and respect.”

The health plan is available for members to enroll in for the 2023 calendar year.

The announcement comes as the health insurance industry is in the thick of Medicare open enrollment season.

Payers are expanding their markets and taking steps to lower costs in light of soaring inflation.

LGBT members are particularly vulnerable. Medicaid beneneficiaries who identified as LGBT reported high rates of unmet needs in the behavioral healthcare space and had experienced negative encounters with providers, a MACPAC issue brief found.