JAMA Network 6/23/2021

As summarized in the Table, 583 of 5754 plans (10.1%) in 2021 offered at least 1 of the new primarily health-related supplemental benefits in 2021; these plans covered 2 231 428 of 22 873 411 beneficiaries (9.8%). Additionally, 1271 plans (22.1%) offered a supplemental benefit specific to COVID-19, such as care packages or face masks, and 637 plans (11.1%) offered SSBCI.

We found differences in mean urbanicity, MA penetration, and social vulnerability index between counties with and without a new primarily health-related supplemental benefit offering. Counties with an MA plan offering 1 of the selected benefits, compared with counties not offering any selected benefits, were more urban (mean [interquartile range {IQR}] urbanicity, 48% [24%-74%] vs 35% [0%-60%]; P < .001) and had higher mean (IQR) MA penetration (40% [33%-48%] vs 25% [11%-36%]; P < .001). Selected benefits were offered in areas with slightly higher mean (IQR) scores on the social vulnerability index (0.52 [0.30-0.73] vs 0.48 [0.20-0.77]; P = .002).

The Figure highlights the geographic spread of selected primarily health-related supplemental benefits, showing the limited geographic reach of the these benefits and the larger coverage for COVID-19 supplemental benefits. A small number of plans offered SSBCI benefits nationwide but were only available to enrollees with certain chronic conditions.

READ MORE