Private Medicare Advantage provide now offers Apple Watch as a member benefit

CNBC reports that Devoted Health says it’s the first Medicare Advantage plan to offer Apple Watch as a benefit to its members. Its marketing materials show that it will help members pay for the cost of the device up to $150. 

CNBC says that Apple is in talks with a number of health insurers to cover the Apple Watch, but this represents an early move into the senior market. Devoted Health is a health insurance start-up targeting seniors. Medicare Advantage is a type of Medicare health plan offered by a private company that contracts with Medicare.

Working with Medicare Advantage plans offers a big potential boost to device sales because seniors are increasingly adopting smartphone technologies and might be interested in a smartwatch. CNBC says Apple has been “courting this population by introducing features and services that are intended to be beneficial to older users, such as fall detection and heart health monitoring.”