While the Medicare Advantage program has flaws, it offers more value to older adults than the alternative, Sachin Jain, MD, CEO of the SCAN Group, a not-for-profit healthcare organization with MA plans in five states, told McKnight’s Home Care. There is room for improvement for MA, which is under intense scrutiny, but it ultimately is better than traditional Medicare, which has coverage gaps and does not have defined benefits for many social determinants of health, he said in a Newsmakers podcast.
The SCAN Group, which offers Medicare Advantage plans along with primary care and other services to older adults, recently released its first-ever Environmental, Social and Governance report. The purpose was to showcase the ways in which the organization is supporting employees, members, patients and communities, and advancing social aims for the company. Among the company’s points of pride is its work to address homelessness among older adults, according to Jain. It offers many clinical programs for the older population, including an Independence at Home program. With the release of the MA rate for 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is sending a message that it would like to cut payment to MA plans. The SCAN Group’s MA model is different than other MA companies in that it enables providers to actually own the risk themselves. Jain’s interest in social justice originated, in part, from his parents who grew up at the time of Indian independence and his early exposure to inequality and racism, he said.
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Show contributors:
McKnight’s Home Care Editor Liza Berger and Sachin Jain, MD, CEO, SCAN Group