SCAN Health Plan added 127,000 members during Medicare's annual enrollment period, making for 40.6% growth.
This marks the most successful enrollment window in the non-profit insurer's history, the company told Fierce Healthcare exclusively. Total membership at SCAN sits at about 440,000 across six states, with $8 billion in revenue.
Leaders at SCAN said in an interview that the growth wasn't necessarily tied to a specific product offering or trend in the market, and was instead the result of the team's hard work in building provider relationships and generating stable, high performance in Medicare Advantage's star ratings.
The company said in the announcement that about 25% of its new business resulted from those new provider relationships, and that 100% of people enrolled in plans who are eligible for the star ratings are in a plan with at least four stars.
SCAN Group CEO Sachin Jain, M.D., told Fierce that it's notable the growth wasn't concentrated in any specific region the insurer serves, but was seen across its footprint.
"As we try to make the transition from being a small regional health plan to a national, not-for-profit Medicare Advantage plan, I think our our messaging is and our value proposition is really resonating with members and providers," Jain said. "I think we're at a real inflection point for the company that sets us up to be an even better partner to members and providers and brokers long term."
Karen Schulte, president of the Medicare division at SCAN, echoed the sentiment, saying that the company's "consistency in a time of inconsistency throughout the industry" clearly resonated in the market.
Within the broader growth of the company's portfolio, SCAN saw enrollment increases across a number of its niche products, which are designed with a particular population in mind. SCAN's Affirm plans, which are designed for LGBTQIA+ seniors, grew by 112% to close to 4,000 members. Its Inspired plans, HMO coverage built for women, grew 1,280% to 2,500 enrollees.
In addition, SCAN's Allied plans, launched in partnership with Astrana Health to provide culturally competent care for Asian seniors, saw membership grow 820% to close to 10,000 members.
Schulte said that, in a time when healthcare costs are rising and access feels like a major challenge for many, plans like these make members feel more welcome.
"Just recognizing the unique needs of sub-segments of the population really helps to make them feel seen, and obviously then addresses the unique needs of women or LGBTQ+ older adults in a way that a general benefit plan or offering doesn't," she said.
Beyond the specific plan offerings, SCAN took a new approach for the latest AEP with its new marketing campaign, which leads with the idea that the healthcare experience is broken. It shows people struggling with an automated phone tree and learning at the pharmacy counter that their prescription isn't covered.
Jain said that the ad has highlighted to stakeholders across MA that SCAN is willing to "acknowledge the reality" within the program. And it's also spurred a drive internally to do more to address these hurdles.
"There's a little bit of a 'put up or shut up' that's going on inside of our company," he said. "If we're going to say that we're better, then we actually have to be better."