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Sachin H. Jain: Honored to Testify on the Past, Present, and Future of Medicare Advantage

Sachin Jain/LinkedIn

Jul 24, 2025, 12:27

Sachin H. Jain: Honored to Testify on the Past, Present, and Future of Medicare Advantage

Sachin H. Jain, President and CEO, Board Director at SCAN Health Plan, shared a post on LinkedIn:

“I was honored to testify before the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee on the Past, Present, and Future of Medicare Advantage:

Let me start with a story – not about me, but about SCAN’s founders. We call them the ‘Twelve Angry Seniors.’ In 1977, fed up with a fragmented system, they created the Senior Care Action Network – SCAN – with one mission: help people age with dignity and independence. Nearly 50 years later, that mission still drives us.

Today, SCAN serves 300,000 Medicare Advantage members across five states. We specialize in frail, vulnerable older adults and operate one of the nation’s few fully integrated dual-eligible plans.

What makes us different? We’re nonprofit. We prioritize members over shareholders. That’s why we’ve earned a 4.5-Star rating in 7 of the last 8 years.

I come to you wearing many hats: clinician, former policymaker, health plan leader, and family member. My own in-laws are SCAN members. I’ve know firsthand what works – and what doesn’t – in our system.

To understand Medicare Advantage, we must revisit 1965, when President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare into law, declaring older Americans would no longer be denied ‘the healing miracle of modern medicine.’ It was noble and transformative.

But traditional Medicare has gaps – no dental, vision, or hearing coverage, little prevention, minimal care coordination, and average costs of up to $1,000 per month for Parts B, D, and supplemental plans – out of reach for many.

Medicare Advantage helps fill those gaps. It brings coordination, supplemental benefits, financial protections, and lowers out-of-pocket costs by thousands – while aligning incentives to keep people healthy.

Are there problems? Absolutely. But let’s not miss the forest for the trees.

Consider:

A woman with diabetes and vision loss makes appointments because her plan covers transportation.
A man with hypertension works with a coach, dietician, and remote monitoring – preventing complications.
A SCAN member leaves the hospital with equipment and follow-ups ready – so nothing falls through the cracks.

These aren’t luxuries. They protect health, independence, and dignity – because Congress gave plans flexibility to innovate.

We often ask: Can we afford these benefits? The real question: can we afford to live without them?

Too often, debate fixates on benchmarks and coding. Yes, risk adjustment and stars need reform. But the test is this: what does life look like for older adults with these plans – and without them? For many, it’s the difference between being secure and being vulnerable.

At SCAN, we’re ready to be part of the solution. We believe in oversight. We believe in improvement. And we believe in a future where Medicare Advantage fulfills its promise for every older adult.

Thank you. I look forward to your questions.

Written recommendations with areas for reform can be found here.”

Sachin H. Jain: Honored to Testify on the Past, Present, and Future of Medicare Advantage