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September 8, 2021

UMass partners to launch Medicare health plan for Worcester County

PHOTO/NATHAN FISKE In Massachusetts, almost 328,000 individuals are covered by Medicare Advantage, a health coverage plan offered by private companies.

A new Medicare health plan dubbed Mass Advantage and owned by UMass Memorial Health Ventures, Inc., Shields Managed Care Solutions, LLC, and WCAS CM Holdings LLC will become available to Worcester County residents in the coming months, according to a Thursday press release.

Starting Oct. 15, Medicare-eligible Worcester County residents will be able to enroll in Mass Advantage, with coverage starting Jan. 1, 2022, per the announcement. 

The plan will offer PPO and HMO options, and cover all benefits offered under traditional Medicare, such as medical and prescription drug coverage.

In the spring, Mass Advantage, headquartered in Worcester, submitted an application to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to operate the plan in Worcester County, said the release. The program has been licensed by the Massachusetts Division of Insurance as a health maintenance organization.

Medicare Advantage is a health plan offered by private companies that is approved by Medicare to provide Medicare-covered benefits, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. In Massachusetts, almost 328,000 individuals are covered by Medicare Advantage.

“Our push to become a more integrated health care provider was missing this component,” said Dr. Eric Dickson, president and CEO of UMass Memorial Health in Worcester, in the press release. “Mass Advantage will give Medicare beneficiaries access to everything UMass Memorial has to offer.”

Shields Managed Care Solutions, LLC is led by Jack Shields, founder of Shields Health Solutions, a specialty pharmacy provider in Stoughton.

 

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