Philadelphia-based Health Partners Plans is expanding its Medicare Advantage coverage into Gloucester County, N.J., The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Sept. 12.
Open enrollment starts Oct. 15 for the 2023 plans, though federal regulations prevent Health Partners Plans from discussing the plans' details, according to the report.
Company CEO Denise Napier, BSN, told the Inquirer the decision to expand into New Jersey happened before Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health assumed full ownership interest in the company in November. She said the expansion into New Jersey is a service-area expansion under its Pennsylvania license.
"People in the contiguous counties in New Jersey cross over the bridges for care and vice versa," she said. "The providers in New Jersey already see some of the members who cross over, so they know who we are, and it’s an easier transition to go into those counties because we’re known there."
As of August, Health Partners Plans' Medicare Advantage plans covered about 13,000 members in 10 Pennsylvania counties, according to the report. About 90 percent of those covered by the plans were Philadelphia residents.