Google Bets $375M on Medicare Advantage With Oscar Health Stake

Google parent company Alphabet is planning to invest $375 million into Oscar Health in anticipation of the privatization of Medicare, reports Forbes . The insurer will use the investment to enroll in Medicare Advantage (MA), a popular health plan that policymakers are seeking to expand by easing rules. "We will continue to build a member experience that lowers costs and improves care, and to bring Oscar to more people — deepening our expansion into the individual and small business markets while entering a new business segment, Medicare Advantage, in 2020," says Oscar Health CEO Mario Schlosser. MA plans contract with the federal government to offer more benefits and services to seniors than traditional Medicare, such as disease management and nurse help hotlines, with some also delivering vision and dental care and wellness programs. Earlier this year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services finalized new policies, "reinterpreting the standards for health-related supplemental benefits" in the MA program to include additional services "that increase health and improve quality of life, including coverage of non-skilled in-home supports and other assistive devices." Slightly less than 35 percent of Medicare beneficiaries are currently MA enrollees, but enrollment is forecast to hit 50 percent market penetration by the end of 2025. "We're in the individual market, we're in the small employer market, and we're going into Medicare Advantage in 2020," Schlosser says.