Why Peer-Led Digital Coaching Is the Missing Layer in Your Medicare Tech Stack

Why Peer-Led Digital Coaching Is the Missing Layer in Your Medicare Tech Stack
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Health plans talk a lot about platforms, APIs, and integrations. Rarely do they talk with equal energy about something far more basic: who is actually teaching older adults to use all this technology?

Most digital transformation roadmaps assume adoption will come from:

  • Proactive emails
  • “How-to” videos
  • Provider referrals
  • Occasional webinars

For older adults, that’s usually not enough. What’s missing is a sustained, human layer of support—especially from people they trust.

What Makes Peer-Led Different?

Traditional training models often rely on IT staff, call-center scripts, or vendor webinars. These approaches can be efficient, but they rarely speak the language of older adults.

Peer-led models flip this dynamic:

  • Instructors are older adults themselves or highly experienced in working with them.
    Classes move at a pace that matches learners’ comfort levels.
  • The environment is designed for questions, repetition, and practice.

This is the core of how GetSetUp works. Instead of dropping members into a generic tutorial, we create spaces where they can say:

  • “I don’t know where to click next.”
  • “Can you show that again?”
  • “What does this word mean?”

And they hear answers from someone who has been in their shoes.

From One-and-Done to Ongoing Confidence

Digital skills aren’t built in a single session. They develop through:

  • Repeated exposure
  • Small wins
  • Positive reinforcement

That’s why GetSetUp focuses on ongoing engagement:

  • Members can attend multiple sessions on portals, apps, telehealth, and benefit navigation.
  • They can schedule 1-on-1 tutorials focused on their plan’s specific tools.
  • They can explore health, wellness, and lifestyle classes that help them apply what they’ve learned in real life.

Over time, members don’t just learn a portal—they become digitally confident people who are more prepared to manage their health and benefits.

Why This Matters for Plans

From a plan’s perspective, peer-led coaching fills critical gaps:

  • It offloads “how do I use this?” questions from customer service and care teams.

  • It increases utilization of the digital tools and benefits you’ve already paid for.

  • It supports Star Ratings by improving experience, access, and care coordination.

  • It aligns with CMS and NCQA priorities around digital equity and health literacy.

When you add a peer-led activation layer on top of your existing tech stack, you turn static infrastructure into a living support ecosystem.

The future of digital health for Medicare isn’t just smarter technology. It’s smarter support. And peer-led coaching is the most overlooked, highest-leverage layer you can add.

Bring GetSetUp to your organization

We partner with Medicare Advantage plans, dual eligible plans,  healthcare providers, Departments of Health & Human Services, Government aging services and more.