Medicare Advantage (MA) is a powerful marketplace, with growth (+40% since 2016), significant evolution (new legislation enabling chronic supplemental benefits in April 2020), and profitability for those who understand and adapt to meet its needs.
Worth Your Time
I just listened to a podcast What Are Medicare Advantage Plans Up to Right About Now? with Betsy Seals, cofounder of the Rebellis Group, and my co-president partner Stacey Richter. I recommend it if you are interested in finding answers to the following questions.
What Should Pharmaceutical Marketers Be Considering?
The key points that were discussed are deeply linked to pharmaceutical marketers who are planning for brand and customer success. Over the past 2 weeks, I’ve sat with 3 different prelaunch pharmaceutical brands, and 1 mature brand, all trying to solve the challenge of ensuring and maximizing success. In the wake of this COVID pandemic, what is the persistent impact on health care and the patients we serve, and how can we overcome barriers?
Health system access
Member satisfaction
Improved outcomes addressing social determinants of health
Technology and data as enablers
All are common themes that should be on the table along with historical safety and efficacy.
5 Key Performance Issues for Medicare Advantage Leaders
Betsy explored the issues that affect not only MA plans but others as well:
Star ratings
Membership growth rates
Risk adjustment functioning
Disenrollment
Member complaints
As we think about how we can strengthen our value propositions, often we need to look beyond the basics of pricing, discounting, contracting, and clinical trial data.
What Does the Patient Need?
Member satisfaction, convenient health system access including telehealth, and support for social determinants of health like transportation, meals, and even masks can all contribute to improved outcomes. (Anthem used dog food subsidies for service dogs.)
In 2020, 30% of MA plans’ Star Ratings are driven by member satisfaction. Partnerships, communication, education, and support across the entire patient journey can have a meaningful impact. And this support extends to patients and the providers who serve them. Astute payers, both MA and other commercial ones, are pivoting to adapt for this success.
We’re Here to Help
At Aventria, we are happy to discuss how we can help create and deploy effective strategies to maximize your successful go-to-market plans. Please reach out to:
Dave Dierk, Co-President, 30-year sales and marketing thought leader in pharmaceutical diagnostics, biomedical, long-term care, managed care, employer, and pharmacy communications, at 215-489-9000 x103 or dave.dierk@aventriahealth.com.
Making a difference in patient care by helping patients, providers, and payers collaborate on shared priorities