Elevance Health will provide smartphones with unlimited talk, text and data to some of its Medicaid members.
In a Jan. 10 news release, the payer said the program is designed to give Medicaid members access to their care teams and digital health tools. The program is a collaboration between Elevance Health, Verizon, Samsung, AT&T and T-Mobile.
The effort is funded by the Affordable Connectivity Program, a federal initiative to provide internet access to low-income households, according to the release.
"The lack of sufficient internet connectivity and technology access remains a significant barrier for many — increasing health inequities," Kurt Small, president of Elevance Health's Medicaid business, said in the release. "This program aims to directly address this challenge and helps improve the health of the people we serve."
Elevance plans to launch the program in multiple states in 2024.