MA Plan Announces Program to Improve Senior Mental Healthcare

SCAN Health Plan has developed a program to help combat loneliness stemming from social isolation and to improve senior mental healthcare.

The coronavirus pandemic and the requisite isolation due to social distancing practices have exacerbated the mental health crisis across the nation, but the effects are hitting the senior population particularly hard.

Before the pandemic, more than 40 percent of seniors reported feeling lonely on a regular basis, SCAN Health Plan noted in its press release. During the pandemic, one in four adults aged 65 years and older reported feeling anxious or depressed.

Loneliness can be a life-or-death situation, with seniors who report feeling lonely having a 45 percent increased risk of mortality. SCAN, one of the biggest nonprofit Medicare Advantage plans, based their program on the foundation of peer interactions whether it be virtually or in person.

“Loneliness is a health problem, and that’s exactly how we’re going to treat it,” said Dr. Sachin Jain, president and chief executive officer of SCAN Group and SCAN Health Plan.

“So, in keeping with SCAN’s mission to keep our members healthy and independent, we’ve designed a Togetherness program that will decrease loneliness and isolation by establishing meaningful social bonds among our members.”

According to the press release, the Togetherness program will offer members virtual and in-person classes designed around shared interests as well as a “friendly phoner” program through which SCAN employees and members will reach out to seniors by telephone.

There will also be a “tech buddy” program available to members that will provide support to seniors who want to connect with others using tablets or other digital devices.

Virtual care has become a popular means of healthcare delivery during the pandemic and this Medicare Advantage plan is taking advantage of it.

Previous efforts that leveraged SCAN’s peer-to-peer interaction model showed improvements in seniors’ health as a result.

Through a network of Peer Advocates—individuals who are both SCAN members and employees—SCAN ensures that their members always have people to assist them with healthcare challenges or to simply talk with them about personal struggles that they may face.

The presence of Peer Advocates has helped members become more physically active, address mobility issues, and seek treatment for mental health issues, according to the press release.

In the past, SCAN has worked to decrease loneliness in seniors by donating $330,000 to nonprofit organizations that serve seniors. The payer also shifted its Friendly Visitor volunteer program from in-person to over the phone in order to continue the service at the start of the pandemic.

Other payers have implemented similar approaches. Cigna also provided a phone service for Medicare Advantage members to support them during social distancing. Cigna representatives worked with members over the phone to identify any potential health risks and act as a resource to field members’ questions or concerns.

Given that mental health and loneliness are not new concerns for older Americans, payers have been supporting seniors in social isolation even before the pandemic. For example, in 2019 Humana’s Bold Goal report found that loneliness can amplify mental healthcare needs and unhealthy days. The results motivated the payer to take action.

“Throughout the country, we are seeing a rise in mental health concerns as well as loneliness and social isolation, especially in our aging adult population. In fact, since the 1980s, the rates of loneliness in adults over the age of 45 have doubled,” Caraline Coats, vice president of Bold Goal and population health strategy, said at the time.

“With the knowledge that mentally unhealthy days and new membership are driving many of our results, several of our Bold Goal communities are looking at ways to address this growing need.”

As the country slowly starts to open up again, public social events may become more prevalent, but many payers, like SCAN, may choose to rely more heavily on virtual care to support their seniors.