Alignment Healthcare Adds 950+ Scripps Health Providers to Its San Diego Medicare Advantage Network In 2021

Award-winning health care system and Medicare Advantage insurance provider to expand care coverage to more than 580k San Diegans eligible for Medicare¹

ORANGE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Alignment Healthcare, a Medicare Advantage insurance provider, and Scripps Health, a nonprofit health care system based in San Diego, announced the signing of an agreement to offer a new plan option in San Diego County.

Starting in 2021, Alignment will add more than 950 primary care and specialist physicians from Scripps Clinic and Scripps Coastal Medical Center to its San Diego network. Medicare beneficiaries who enroll in the new Alignment Health Plan option can seek “in-network” care with those Scripps physicians beginning Jan. 1, 2021. Members of other San Diego Alignment Health Plan products will continue to have access to Scripps hospitals. Medicare’s annual enrollment period for the 2021 plan year begins Oct. 15.

“By teaming with Alignment Healthcare, San Diego residents will have another health plan option to access high quality Scripps providers, which is especially important in the midst of such challenging conditions during the coronavirus pandemic,” said Shawn Forrester, Scripps Health corporate vice president, payer relations.

Alignment – named one of four “Best Insurance Companies for Medicare Advantage” in California by U.S. News & World Report – entered the San Diego market in 2019, bringing its ACCESS On-Demand Concierge program and “Care Anywhere” services to provide Medicare beneficiaries with a wide range of benefits, including 24/7 access to a doctor by phone or video, a dedicated concierge team, and a black card to purchase eligible over-the-counter and grocery items at more than 50,000 retailers across the country.

“Through this collaboration, we are focused on delivering the care that seniors deserve by providing access to top doctors and convenient care,” said Dawn Maroney, president of consumer and markets, Alignment Healthcare. “This partnership with Scripps Health will provide seniors in San Diego County with even more choices when seeking care through Scripps’ extensive network of physicians.”

Founded in 1924 by philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps, Scripps Health is a nonprofit integrated health care system that treats more than 600,000 patients annually through the dedication of 3,000 affiliated physicians and more than 15,000 employees among its five acute-care hospital campuses. Recognized as a leader in disease and injury prevention, diagnosis and treatment, Scripps also is at the forefront of clinical research. Its hospitals are ranked No. 1 in San Diego County and among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its extensive network of medical experts, Scripps also provides health education resources, nutrition and fitness classes, and programs for chronic conditions.

Alignment Healthcare continues to grow and recently announced in August that it plans to expand its Medicare Advantage plans into several new markets across California, Nevada and North Carolina starting in 2021, pending regulatory approval. In 2020, Alignment doubled its geographic footprint and extended plan options to more seniors in California. Its health care delivery model combines high-touch care coordination with AVA™, its proprietary command center technology, to improve quality of care and eliminate waste in the care system.

“This relationship with Scripps will allow more seniors to gain better access to care, which ultimately leads to better health outcomes,” said John Kao, Alignment Healthcare CEO. “Staying true to our mission to put the senior first, together we can transform the health care experience for the senior population.”

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. 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 through Alignment Health Plan, and also partners with select health plans to help deliver better benefits at lower costs. For more information, please visit www.alignmenthealthcare.com.

¹ 584,309 as of July 2020, https://www.cms.gov/research-statistics-data-and-systemsstatistics-trends-and-reportsmcradvpartdenroldatama-state-county/ma-statecounty-penetration-2020-07