Orange-based Alignment Healthcare is a little more than a month from introducing a first-of-its-kind concierge program for seniors with Medicare Advantage insurance coverage.
Last month it announced plans to start Access On-Demand Concierge, a program that gives older people access to a dedicated concierge team who can support them on a range of services, “from answering a quick benefits question to connecting them to a physician via phone call or app,” even in the middle of the night or on a weekend, “all in real time,” it said.
The program starts in January, and will be available for Alignment’s Orange County members, along with those in other regions it serves. The enrollment period runs through Dec. 7.
Alignment executives say concierge-level services mitigate the costs and complexities of treating Medicare Advantage members, who are among the most expensive to treat in its system due to them often having multiple chronic conditions.
About 35% of all new Medicare enrollees are signing up for Medicare Advantage, according to news reports.
Alignment Healthcare Chief Executive John Kao said in a statement that in addition to access to good doctors, healthcare providers, hospitals and cost-effective medication coverage, seniors deserve more.
“That’s why Alignment’s health plans prioritize an elevated level of service and come with a 24/7 dedicated concierge team that is solely focused on delivering a personalized, on-demand experience.”
The concierge feature will give members a wide range of benefits at no extra cost, including round-the-clock access to a licensed doctor or medical specialist via phone, mobile app or online portal, as well as a dedicated team that helps patients make appointments, schedule transportation, determine benefits, discuss health issues, assist with post-discharge home meal delivery, and more.
Vice President of Communications Jerry Slowey told the Business Journal that Alignment’s offering is unique.
He said that while insurers are moving toward better managing members, many partner with care-management providers to do most of the tasks that Alignment has taken in-house.
Alignment employs about 700 and has been expanding year-over-year, Slowey said.
The majority of the plans in the program feature no monthly premiums and cover 100% primary-care doctor visits, gym memberships, dental exams and routine eye exams.
Alignment serves Orange, San Diego, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties in Southern California, and San Joaquin, Santa Clara and Stanislaus counties in Northern California.
Cancer Detection
Irvine-based Laboratory for Advanced Medicine (LAM), which develops tests for early diagnosis of cancers, announced new data further validating the use of its IvyGene platform.
The noninvasive blood test uses advanced DNA sequencing methods to identify methylation-based DNA biomarkers to distinguish tumors from normal tissues. The recent clinical study showed that biomarkers detected using LAM’s technology platform demonstrated 95% sensitivity and 97% specificity when identifying the presence of hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common type of liver cancer.
“These data demonstrate a substantial improvement over current standard of care practices for [hepatocellular carcinoma] detection and support further development and expansion of our product pipeline to address unmet needs in cancer diagnostics,” company Chairman Shu Li said in a statement, noting that cancer type is one of the leading causes of cancer mortality in the world.
The study analyzed samples from 130 subjects, including 60 diagnosed with liver cancer, 30 without liver disease, 10 with benign liver disease, and 30 with breast, colorectal or lung cancers.
Of the samples drawn from subjects with nonliver cancers, LAM’s platform generated specificity of 87% for correctly identifying the samples as such.
In addition to its Spectrum-area headquarters, LAM has offices in Texas, Indiana and China.
The commercial-stage medical technology company began operations in 2014.
Overseas Sales
Irvine-based Aivita Biomedical Inc., a biotech company specializing in stem cell applications, announced it will sell its Root of Skin line of skincare products on Japanese home-shopping channel QVC Japan, effective Nov. 26.
The biotech firm partnered with Trade Research Co. Ltd. in Japan to manage Japanese distribution channels for its skincare products.
Aivita has a clinical-stage regenerative medicine arm and a cash-generating skincare business. Proceeds from QVC sales will support its ongoing second-phase ovarian cancer clinical trial.
The company raised $15 million in funding in June.
