Network Health, a Wisconsin-based insurer owned by Froedtert ThedaCare Health, grew 37% during this past annual enrollment period to 126,000 total Medicare Advantage members, its second consecutive year of record growth. The plan also posted a 98% member retention rate.
The results make Network Health the second largest MA carrier in its 27-county service area, behind only UnitedHealthcare. More than 20,000 of the plan’s new members switched in the fall from UnitedHealthcare alone.
“We’ve been in this business for 44 years,” Coreen Dicus-Johnson, president and CEO of Network Health, told Becker’s. “Our shareholders are our community. We strive to make sure that even in the tough times, we can continue to be there.”
Network Health has maintained five-star customer service ratings for five consecutive years, a 90% employee retention rate across all departments, and it didn’t cut broker commissions this past cycle as many competitors did to manage costs. The plan also recently reached the 100th percentile nationally for Press Ganey provider satisfaction.
Ms. Dicus-Johnson said the plan’s recent blockbuster growth was not entirely expected, with enrollment volume far exceeding original projections. She said the plan began staffing up call centers and clinical operations in August and experienced about two weeks of longer-than-usual hold times before returning to normal.
One initiative that has distinguished Network Health nationally is its integration with Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs into its MA pharmacy network, making it one of the first plans in the country to do so when it first launched in early 2025. Ms. Dicus-Johnson said she first encountered Cost Plus Drugs four years ago and immediately wanted to bring the model to Network Health’s members.
“I brought it back to our pharmacy people and said, they’re doing something really innovative here. Let’s figure this out,” she said.
Unlike coupon-based programs or out-of-pocket reimbursement models, Network Health built a fully electronic claims integration model with its PBM, Express Scripts, so prescriptions are processed in real time with no paper claims required. Mail-order benefits apply automatically, and eligible medications count toward members’ Part D accumulators.
The plan estimates that approximately 65% of covered medications show meaningful savings through the partnership. Network Health also has seven pharmacists on staff who work directly with members to identify the most cost-effective medication options.
Beyond the pharmacy partnership, Ms. Dicus-Johnson pointed to the company’s broader clinical integration program as a driver of both growth and quality. The plan operates a grant program in which providers propose quality improvement initiatives and Network Health funds them.
Last year, a grant funded a program integrating pharmacy support into primary care for diabetes patients. The result was improved A1C’s, blood pressure control and increased statin use, prompting a program renewal for 2026.
“Our success is largely driven through our clinical integration program with all of our providers, not just our owner,” Ms. Dicus-Johnson said. “They’re paid through gain-sharing based on quality and performance. We are aligned across our network of providers, and we see them as stakeholders that are brought into our decision-making.”
