SCAN Health Plan and Costco Wholesale Corp., a preferred pharmacy for the insurer, are collaborating to offer older adults a rewards program, provide them with greater flexibility with spending benefits and educate them about Medicare.
Senthu Arumugam, SCAN’s chief commercial officer, and Trish Cox, chief experience officer, explained the details of the alliance to Becker’s.
“What was important to us was that we work with retail partners where there’s a shared alignment of values,” Mr. Arumugam said. “That could not be more the case with Costco.”
The Health Action Rewards Program will grant select members up to $125 in incentives for partaking in healthy habits. Clinicians helped design the program to promote better health outcomes.
The health plan is also allowing over-the-counter and flexible spending benefits to be used at Costco stores in Washington. SCAN members can use their eyewear allowance at Costco Optical, as well.
SCAN could not share specifics on projected cost savings through the program, but it expects the initiatives at Costco to deliver value for members.
“It really is about reinvesting in our members and driving more value for them. The more deeply we can partner and integrate, and make things easy and efficient, the more we can look at doubling down in those partnerships,” Ms. Cox said.
Along with building out more robust offerings for SCAN members, the plan believes in “meeting seniors where they are.” Mr. Arumugam said roughly 75% of members shop at Costco, but working with Costco also allows SCAN to engage with non-members.
SCAN Health Day will have representatives from the plan and Costco on hand to inform older adults about Medicare Advantage and health services available at the retailer. The events will take place across 50 Costco locations in Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas and Washington Nov. 13.
When it comes to forging partnerships, Mr. Arumugam emphasized weighing the retailer’s values, especially amid shifting Medicare Advantage strategies.
“As the industry, we spend a lot of dollars on supplemental benefits, many times that aren’t used. We know that’s a real priority for CMS, around understanding what is being used and making sure those dollars go to good value,” Mr. Arumugam said. “With that context in mind, as people think about retail partnerships, what’s important to us is that we’re working with retailers that are just laser-focused on value, experience and quality.”
