The 39th Annual J.P. Morgan Health Care Conference was held virtually on January 11-14, 2021. CSG Actuarial has summarized a number of highlights from key presentations and sessions.
- Humana CEO is confident Medicare Advantage program enjoys broad, bipartisan support.
Now, nearly 40% of beneficiaries are enrolled in MA, and that is only growing. “What you’ve seen over the last decade is really a change in the number of people that are in the program — who are a voting bloc,” Broussard said. In addition, MA has significantly evolved in terms of quality, as at the time the star ratings program was not fully fleshed out, he said. Health plans have invested significantly in innovation to improve the quality of the member’s experience with their plans, and in the quality of the care they receive. Read the full article here.
- Centene’s CEO says insurer planning for a ‘different mix’ of care utilization due to COVID-19
Centene Corporation CEO Michael Neidorff said the company is expecting care utilization to normalize but is planning for a different mix of services as COVID-19 cases surge. He said Centene is still seeing its members defer elective procedures, while demand for COVID-19 treatment and care is rising. The company expects to see that continue into the first part of 2021, Neidorff said. In addition, he said emergency department utilization is “way down,” which isn’t likely to be made up in future utilization. “I expect the first half of the year to be normal utilization, total, but the mix will be different,” Neidorff said. Read the full article here.
- Cigna’s CEO puts a spotlight on the company’s focus on growth.
One of the key areas of growth of late within Cigna is Medicare Advantage, where the insurer is rapidly expanding with the goal of reaching 50% of the Medicare population with its plans in the next five years. When it embarked on this growth plan, Cigna’s MA plans reached about 18% of the MA market. The company aims to grow its share by 10% to 15% each year over the next several years. Cordani said the company achieved its growth goals for the 2021 plan year and already has charted a course for 2022 and 2023. Read the full article here
- Pandemic propels health systems to mull insurer acquisitions, partnerships.
The pandemic has been a heavily discussed topic during the digital gathering. One theme has been health systems either acknowledging they are on the hunt for health insurer acquisitions and partnerships or advocating for such arrangements as result of the challenges. Read the full article here
- CVS Health Executives provided an update on recent financial performance, recent executive leadership updates and CVS’ pivotal role in COVID-19 vaccine distribution. CVS Health Presentation
- Clover Health provided a presentation on its Clover Assistant platform and Medicare Advantage growth. Clover Health Presentation