Seniors in Area Gain 2nd HMO
Universal Care, based in Signal Hill, will offer a second healthcare choice for eastern Ventura County seniors receiving Medicare benefits beginning in 2005.
The company has provided managed care plans in Los Angeles, Orange and Kern counties since 2002. Starting Jan. 1, the company will offer a plan to seniors in Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village.
Universal will provide an alternative for seniors enrolling in a Medicare Advantage healthcare plan, said Katharine Raley, a Medicare counselor for the county’s Area Agency on Aging.
Currently, only Kaiser Permanente provides a Medicare health maintenance organization package in eastern Ventura County, she said. Although it has local clinics, Kaiser’s closest hospital is in Woodland Hills in Los Angeles County.
The Universal plan would be affiliated with the much closer Simi Valley Hospital, Raley said.
“We’re happy to see Universal out here,” she said. “It’s really going to help a lot of seniors.”
About 28,000 Medicare users live in the plan’s newly approved service area, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Secure Horizons offers an HMO for seniors in western Ventura County.
Medicare Advantage HMOs and fee-for-service plans are available where private companies choose to offer them. About 4.6 million Americans have enrolled in Medicare HMOs.
For enrollment information, call (800) 633-4227.
