Advantage plans are an excellent addition to great personal care

Modern health plans focus as much on wellness as they do on illness. Encouraging people to take better care of themselves is good business for insurance companies: Healthier people equal less time and money spent on hospitals and doctors. Medicare Advantage plans aim to help seniors live healthily and independently. Far beyond the yearly check-up appointment, 2020 plans create more paths to wellness than ever before.

We reviewed a selection of Medicare Advantage plans available in Southern California to find out about the novel ways insurers are using to help us stay well in the coming new year. Some of the larger companies have multiple plans to choose from.

GET MORE EXERCISE

All of the plans we looked at offer a free gym membership, which allows use of exercise equipment and the chance to take classes in balance, weight training, yoga and even meditation. A few also include discounts on workout apparel, including running shoes. Long Beachbased SCAN Health Plan took a trackable step forward in 2020 by offering select members a FitBit as a featured extra. The wearable device that counts steps, calories burned and even measures heart rate. Talk about an incentive: You have instant evidence of your new healthy habits.

SPECIAL GROUPS, SPECIAL DIETS

Most plans mention programs available directly through the insurer’s health maintenance organization (HMO) or by contract to community-based and commercial programs, usually for a small fee.

Classes, coaching and cooking instruction are among the benefits. A special diabetes plan can include nutrition counseling, healthy cooking classes, foot care and diabetic supplies, including glucose monitors and test strips.

TRY ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO DEAL WITH PAIN

Acupuncture has been adapted as one way to relieve or reduce pain, particularly dental pain, back pain and headaches.

Several Advantage plans will offer access to it in 2020, as well as coverage for chiropractic care and other non-medicine pain treatments. Some plans offered by SCAN even include coverage for massage therapy.

GET HELP FOR VITAMINS AND OTHER SUPPLEMENTS

If your doctor tells you to take fish oil and aspirin that you can get over the counter at the pharmacy, it can add up. Wouldn’t it be nice if your insurance helped cover some of the costs? Many plans do just this. And while your yearly flu shot is almost always covered, some Advantage plans offer less common injections, like pneumonia and shingles vaccinations.

NOW HEAR THIS! (ABOUT HEARING AIDS)

Original Medicare covers hearing tests, but not hearing aids, so people have to pay for them outright. This can cost several thousand dollars. Most of the Advantage plans we reviewed offer discounts or subsidies so that people who need hearing aids can afford them. Hearing loss can lead to social isolation or even dementia.

EMOTIONAL HEALTH IS IMPORTANT

Several Medicare Advantage plans cover anxiety, depression and behavioral health problems. How the treatment is administered varies; plans prescribe group therapy, individual counseling or psychiatric treatment according to expert analysis.

SOMETIMES HALF THE BATTLE IS GETTING THERE

Some Advantage plans have added free or low-cost transportation not only to the doctor’s office, but to the gym, the senior center and even the grocery store — this can keep you more mobile and less reliant on delivery services or family members.

WELLNESS HAS A PLACE IN THE HOME

Several plans offer a free in-home safety inspection to check for hazards. Some will pay for construction projects, such as widening doorways and installing ramps for wheelchair access. People with chronic allergies or asthma may be eligible for plans that will cover the cost of shampooing their carpeting and installing air-cleaning equipment to get rid of irritants. And what about bugs? Some health plans even offer pest control services.

– CATHERINE GAUGH

Custom Publishing Writer

More details about these Medicare Advantage benefits, as well as coverage of prescription drugs, in-home healthcare, medical alert devices, dental work and vision plans can be found on authorized Medicare websites. Information on SCAN plans can be found at scanhealthplan.com.