Alignment Healthcare to expand to 16 new markets in 2022


health insurance

health insurance

After going public in March, insurance technology company Alignment Healthcare has announced plans to expand into 16 new markets, pending regulatory approval.

Next year, Alignment Healthcare is planning to offer health plans in Nye and Washoe counties in Nevada; Avery, Buncombe, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Henderson, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Transylvania and Wilkes counties in North Carolina; and Maricopa and Pima counties in Arizona. This will bring the total number of markets the company operates in to 38.

Alignment Healthcare’s model focuses on putting seniors at the center, said John Kao, founder and CEO of the Orange, California-based company, in an email.

“It goes back to why I founded Alignment as I experienced firsthand the struggles and frustration of filling in the care gaps for my ailing mother,” he said. “We all have similar experiences.”

To provide coordinated care via its Medicare Advantage plans, Alignment Healthcare relies on its proprietary data and technology platform, AVA, which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify early warning signs and alerts care teams to intervention needs. In addition, the platform can be used to facilitate video visits for virtual-first plan members.

The company offers a variety of Medicare Advantage plans, including HMO, PPO, Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans, Chronic Condition Special Needs Plans and specialized plans, like its Harmony HMO plan that enables members to access Eastern medicine disciplines, such as acupuncture, at no additional cost, without any authorization or referral, Kao said.

Alignment Healthcare will add new plan options to its portfolio next year.

It is set to debut its virtual-first PPO plans in 2022. These will be available to members in 28 counties across California, Arizona and North Carolina.

Further, the company is adding Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans in 24 counties in California, Nevada and North Carolina, and Chronic Condition Special Needs Plans in 11 counties in Arizona, California and Nevada.

“We believe senior care is at a turning point, especially as the senior population increases so do their needs and wants from their care experiences,” Kao said. “In 2022, we will be…nearly doubling our geographic footprint and reaching more than 6.9 million Medicare beneficiaries.”

Alignment Healthcare has raised $391 million and its share price has jumped 26% since it went public, according to an article published last month in Modern Healthcare.

Photo: marchmeena29, Getty Images