UCare Medicare Advantage Plans Expand to 300+ Additional Senior Communities in Minnesota

More senior living providers in Minnesota are partnering with nonprofit health plan provider UCare to make Medicare Advantage plans available to residents.

UCare plans have already been available to residents of more than 160 communities operated by more than 20 providers in the Gopher State. New UCare partners for 2022 are Bluestone Physician Services, CareChoice Cooperative, Fairview Partners and Lifespark. UCare’s first partner in these plans was Genevive, which delivers primary care to an extensive network of senior living and care communities.

With the addition of the new organizations, the UCare Advantage Choice and UCare Advocate Plus (HMO-ISNP) plans will be available to residents in more than 300 additional communities across 17 counties next year, according to a Dec. 6 press release.

“We are eager to support aging Minnesotans with this high-touch, fully integrated and simplified approach to their health care,” said UCare Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Chief Marketing Officer Ghita Worcester, in the release. “We continue to build a continuum of coverage for our members – wherever they call home and at every stage of their lives.”

The inclusion of Lifespark among the new UCare partners comes as no surprise. UCare recently invested in Lifespark, a company that provides holistic senior services through value-based care arrangements.

At the time of UCare’s investment in Lifespark earlier this fall, about 6,000 UCare members already were utilizing Lifespark services.

In May 2021, Lifespark (then known as Lifesprk) announced the acquisition of Tealwood Senior Living, with plans to “break down the walls” to offer more coordinated services to residents, supported in part by Medicare Advantage offerings.

Increasingly, special needs plans have been developed to meet the particular needs of senior living residents, with the goal of supporting more comprehensive care and services to this group — ultimately to drive down health care costs while enhancing older adults’ wellbeing. 

The two UCare plans offer benefits such as primary care where the resident lives, enhanced dental coverage, a fall prevention kit and “complete care focused on each member’s unique medical and emotional needs.”

Other signs of Medicare Advantage’s rising prominence in senior living include the recent launch of SCAN’s “Embrace” product; the $300 million funding of AllyAlign Health, a company that partners with senior living providers launching their own plans; and the growth of operator-owned plans such as those of the Perennial Consortium.