Elevance Research Touts Supplemental Benefits’ Impact on Utilization

The use of supplemental benefits in Medicare Advantage can markedly improve health care utilization, decreasing members’ inpatient admissions and increasing wellness visits and preventive screenings, suggests new research from Elevance Health, Inc.’s Public Policy Institute. And the effect is especially pronounced for Medicare-Medicaid dual eligibles, who are more likely to have greater care needs and face socioeconomic vulnerabilities.

Following legislation and regulatory changes in 2018 and 2019 that established new types of supplemental benefits and expanded the definition of what CMS considers “primarily health-related,” payers began to offer supplemental benefits that target these health-related social needs, such as food insecurity and lack of access to transportation.

© 2025 MMIT
Carina Belles

Carina Belles

Carina has been covering public-sector health care since 2018. As a data reporter for Radar on Medicare Advantage, she creates infographics and data stories on issues impacting Medicare, Medicaid and Part D. She also develops AIS Health Daily, a free daily newsletter that showcases AIS’s strong reporting across our four publications and parent company Norstella’s suite of market access and data solutions. Prior to joining the editorial team, she managed Medicare and Medicaid data for the Directory of Health Plans, AIS’s industry-standard health coverage database. She graduated from Ohio University with a B.S. in Journalism.

Related Posts

happy-seniors
March 7

Bigger Footprints, Stable Benefits, Value Adds Assisted AEP Wins

READ MORE
senior-fitness-class
April 18

With Less Funding, MAOs Seek Creative Tradeoffs to Preserve Benefits

READ MORE
woman-at-home
April 18

‘LTSS-Like’ Supplemental Benefits Aim to Fill a Gap, but Enrollment Remains Low

READ MORE

GAIN THERAPEUTIC AREA-SPECIFIC INTEL TO DRIVE ACCESS FOR YOUR BRAND

Sign up for publications to get unmatched business intelligence delivered to your inbox.

subscribe today