Medicare Is Changing. We Must Change with It.

When someone chooses a Medicare plan, they are trusting it with something deeply personal: their health.

They want to know they can get quality care when they need it. They want support to stay healthy and independent. And they want confidence that the care they rely on will be affordable.

Those expectations are simple. But the Medicare landscape around them is changing.

More Americans are reaching Medicare age and living longer. Medical advances and new prescription drugs are giving people more options to treat and manage serious health conditions. We also have a greater opportunity to identify health concerns earlier and help people stay healthier longer.

All of that is progress. But it comes as the cost of healthcare continues to rise.

These pressures are being felt nationwide, but they are more pronounced in Arizona.

About one in five Arizonans is 65 or older, and our senior population is projected to grow approximately 3% each year over the next decade. Longtime residents are reaching Medicare age while retirees continue to choose Arizona as their home.

That means more Arizonans will rely on Medicare and need everything from primary and specialty care to prescription drugs, chronic condition management, behavioral healthcare and support to remain healthy and independent.

At the same time, rising costs across prescription drugs, outpatient care, hospitals, skilled nursing and rehabilitation are putting additional pressure on Medicare.

For our members, these aren’t simply healthcare trends. They affect something much more personal: their ability to get quality care and afford the coverage they depend on.

Medicare is changing, and we must change with it.

At Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, we have.

We are making deliberate changes designed around one goal: helping our members live healthier lives while protecting the affordability of their care.

That starts with focusing more on someone’s health today — not waiting until a health concern becomes an emergency.

It’s at the heart of our move toward value-based primary care. The term can sound complicated, but the idea is simple: put the member at the center and focus on better health. That means greater emphasis on prevention, catching concerns earlier, managing ongoing health conditions and coordinating care among the providers and specialists a member relies on.

We are bringing that same focus to our provider network, looking closely at quality, coordination and where we can deliver greater value for our members.

But the challenges facing Medicare are bigger than what happens in a doctor’s office.

We are also working behind the scenes to take on the broader pressures driving healthcare costs. We advocate for our members with policymakers, work with providers and other healthcare leaders, and push for changes that protect affordability and make the healthcare system work better for the people it serves.

Health plans have a responsibility to question unnecessary costs, make healthcare dollars go further, and be willing to advocate for change when the system isn’t working as well as it should.

We know that change can be disruptive, especially when it involves something as personal as healthcare.

Arizona’s Medicare population will continue to grow. Medicine will continue to advance. And affordability will remain one of healthcare’s greatest challenges.

Our members shouldn’t have to navigate a changing healthcare system alone. As their health plan, we have a responsibility to fight for them.

That’s what it means to change with Medicare and to help protect the care Arizonans are counting on today and for the years ahead.