Hello, everyone. This is Jacob Emerson with the Becker's Payer Issues podcast. Thrilled today to be joined by Troy Schafer, who is the vice president of operations at ScanHealthPlan. Troy, thanks so much for taking the time to be with me on the podcast today. Yeah. Thanks for, for inviting me, Jacob. Look forward to this discussion.
Absolutely. And before we dive into everything we wanna talk with you about, can you tell us a little bit more about yourself, your background in health care in terms of your career, and what it is that you do today at SCAN? Yeah. Thanks for that. So, as you mentioned, I'm vice president here at SCAN, you know, overall contact center operations. Been in the health care industry for a little over eighteen years, so I've been doing this quite a while.
I've had various, you know, leadership positions in health care space, so including, like, a role of vice president of, you know, quality assurance and contact center support at a large health care provider. I was there for about eight years. That included leading teams that totaled more than 1,100 employees. We were across five states at the time in two different locations in India.
And then more recently here at Scan over the last nine years, managing a team of, you know, 400 plus that supports our valued members. Also have an extensive, you know, experience in actual health care sector. So with particular focus around, you know, contact center transformation, operational efficiencies, I've had oversight for for quality assurance prescription and and mail order and pharmacy benefit management operations. Also been involved with both inbound and outbound
contact center responsibilities. So that's, you know, to ensure that the delivery of of high quality and and member facing, you know, services happen. And then lastly, I would say, like, I'm a member of the contact center world, so it's actually known as
CCW. It's an advisory board. It's one of the largest, most recognized, you know, thought leader contributors in in the industry, and that's in the contact center space and really focuses around solution based, being an aggregator for that that contact center space. Fantastic. Well, I appreciate that overview, Troy. And I wanted to get us started by talking about, the whirlwind of a year it's already been for the health care industry, for the health insurance industry more specifically.
So so what would you say are some of the biggest issues you're following this year? What what do you got your eye on in the media, in in new tech and innovations, new data? What's what's top of mind for you right now across the industry, Troy? Yeah. I I think, you know, when you think about just the overall complexities that exist, today with within the health care system, you know, with my work here at SCAN, some of the biggest issues I see is really evolved around three major areas.
I would say, you know, the first being technology. So when you think about how that's used as an overall enabler, I think, secondly, when you think about just balancing overall investments, especially in the in the tech space, so that's something that we really have to keep a tight eye on. And then lastly, I think I would say, you know, the last bucket would probably be, like, maintaining the overall, like, personalization with with our service model.
So what that really means from from my lens is really you know, when I break down those three is, like, when you think about the role of technology and what that plays, it's really like we use it to enhance our overall member experience, while also providing, you know, an important, connector within, you know, the AI space. So that that's a true game changer when you start to talk about AI and and how that's utilized.
So, ultimately, we use that and look at it in a way to improve our overall, delivery of service. And then I think by doing that, it it's really not to just benefit our members. So we we definitely have a member focused, vision, but we also see it as, like, how does that help make our our overall employees' lives easier and really more satisfying in what they're doing?
Because when you think about the frontline, it can be a very challenging, job and role, but then at the same time, we get feedback and see how rewarding that role can be. I I I think my second point, you know, when I mentioned just overall balancing investments, you know, it's there's some big spins out there that that happen, and and it's needed, right, to to to overall enable the business.
But I think it's equally important, like I said, from us being a nonprofit organization that has very thin margins, how do we balance that out, you know, with overall, you know, the technology spend, but then the benefits that we need to contribute to our members. And then lastly, you know, as I mentioned around just personalization, it is really an important part of of our overall mission when we wanna maintain, you know, that connection and and that personal feel with our overall members.
Technology, we know, is crucial, and and many times, it's just foundational to to get the job done. But we we will not just kind of rest and and just let that replace an overall, you know, personal touch that we that our members overall, at the end of the day, expect. So with that, I would say just, you know, when we use technology, and and not replacing it, we we really look at it as, like, how do we, provide our members and our our team members
with what we call, like, superpowers. Right? So how do they use that technology to just enable and unleash, that that extraordinary experience? Certainly. And let's stay on that topic, Troy, of how SCAN is using new tech to improve your members' experiences because we've heard a lot from SCAN leaders this year about, the new the new member app rolling out, the new member portal, integrating AI more into your contact center operations.
So in that vein, what makes you most excited as you look, into the year still to come about what's what's coming next for scan and and for your members? Yeah. Well, I I really get excited. That's
a great question. And and, I really get excited about that piece because I think just the overall possibilities exist when we look about, like, enhancing the overall member experience, and just truly, like, keeping to our core to to who we are, like, that diversification and, you know, how we deliver on our mission. And when you think about our mission, you know, it is to keep seniors healthy and independent.
And so, you know, thinking about the investments that we discussed upfront, there's just a vast need across, like, varying social determinants. You think about language, location, You know, those all coupled with just the general growth, the the massive growth that's out there for aging adults. It just really creates a great environment and opportunity for us to scan, you know, to
help more people. So, you know, one one recent example is when you think about, like, the fire devastation that happened here in Greater Los Angeles, being able to help coordinate, like, core, you know, just functions and our members with, like, organizations that provide them with basic needs. You think about food, shelter, clothes, self care, hygiene, you know, things like that. They just they were really important at that
time, and, obviously, the devastation. You think about being displaced from your home, leaving your home quickly, not having meds. So how do we then align them with local pharmacies wherever they land to make sure they have the the meds that they need? So, yeah, at the end of the day, that, like, meant the world to, like, not only our members, but also here, you know, at SCAN as an organization. So so, yeah, that's what I think I I that's what gets me really excited and
up in the morning. Absolutely. And that's a great example of of the real world impact that this all this new tech can have on on just, you know, what you mentioned, people devastated by wildfires. In the vein of asking you about what you're most excited about looking forward this year, Troy, what are some of the key challenges you're anticipating for for the industry, for your organization? What's making you nervous about the year ahead, and and how are you planning to combat that?
Yeah. I I guess, you know, definitely challenges are out there. I I don't think it's so much a a nervous perspective, but just that constant and upfront awareness, around all the, you know, increasing complexities that are out there. You think about the cost, and, you know, as mentioned a little bit around just disparities in the overall health care, you know, chain.
So, you know, here at Scan, again, when you think about that, we really flip that to being an opportunity that's gonna allow us to just improve our overall service model and then really, like, better meet the needs of our members.
Fantastic. Well, Troy, in terms of say on the topic of the complexities of the industry, for all the leaders listening in, what would you say are some of the most effective tools or attributes that those leaders will need to be successful over the next two to three years? Yeah. I I think, you know, one, two to three years is is out there, and and there's all these kind of, I think, short term between that
as well. But when I look at it overall, the next few years to from a leader's perspective, I see success as really being grounded and and rooted in, like, three core areas. I think about people, you know, the the resources you need, the processes that drive your business. And then as we talked earlier around just overall the technology
that helps enable that. So my opinion, I I think the core pillars of those, you know, have, are what needs to be, you know, focused on to to lead a a successful operations. I think leaders need to create, like, a positive environment, you know, their culture. What does that look like, at an individual level for them? I I think just, you know, implementing the right tools and then optimizing those processes to deliver those in in meaningful outcomes.
You know, if I were to focus just a little bit on the people side of it, you know, for me, what that means is really attracting and and retaining the best talent. In my opinion, you know, that's done by creating, like I said, a positive environment and culture where people really wanna work. They really wanna be there and show up every day.
Let's face it. It's it's really a a very competitive workforce environment out there, and and retaining that top talent is really, I think, a a key component. When I flip to the pillar of, like, technology, know, again, as we discussed earlier on this, it it's really gonna be important to implement the right tools for your organization. So I don't think it's like a one
size fits all. You really have to do the due diligence and understand what's gonna be the right investment and the right tools for your specific business, that's gonna ultimately lead you to success. So I think leaders in that vein need to really ensure their teams, like, have access to the best technology that they can afford or that fits their ecosystem at the time.
And then truly but once that's in, really, like, truly prioritizing and balancing those overall costs, you know, whatever that means in their organization. And then I think lastly, you know, what I would say around the process side of that is, you know, now you've you've got the right people in place. Right? And then you look at the technology, the tools, and enablers that are gonna allow you to kind of
then execute on that. So then it's really looking at your processes, core processes, working to make sure those things are optimized, making sure they're efficient and effective, and which then is gonna help them, you know, in my opinion, deliver meaningful outcomes, that will then ultimately provide value. That's at the end of the day. Are you providing, you know, value to both your organization and then members and or customers?
So, Troy, as I understand it, scan health plan just surpassed 300,000 members this March. What's behind that? What ultimately drove that major growth for the company? Yeah. Thanks for that question. And, obviously, here at SCAN, we're super excited and and, you know, really, really, the accomplishment that we were able to make on 300,000. So there there's a component, you know, of sales, growth, marketing, you know, the products that we deliver.
And then from my end perspective, you know, truly that service that we deliver, I I think that's a key component in one, you know, creating the loyalty and and the excitement about BNS scan. And then I think, two, being able to kinda maintain and retain, you know, those members, you know, over the years. When you think about our our overall service model, it's really kind of a
one to one. So we, you know, really encourage our team to, you know, be in the moment for that call, to try to work towards resolving on that call so our members don't have to call back, and and being able to just to deliver a unparalleled experience for our members. So, again, I think those those are some core, pillars that that help deliver on the service model and and then the
brand of ScanRise. So now they know what to expect, you know, each and every time they need to contact, SCAN for support. Fantastic. Well, Troy, before we go today, any other final thoughts you wanna share with our listeners? No. I I I think, you know, staying positive and passionate about about
what we do. Right? And I I think, you know, there there's a number of challenges in the world out there today, and I think, you know, really coming to the table with with your best effort and best game, you know, as a leader, I think is really important. Well, Troy, thank you so much for taking the time to sit down with us and for sharing your thoughts with our audience. We
really appreciate it. Yeah. Thank you. And if you'd like to listen to more podcasts from Becker's Healthcare, you can visit beckershospitalreview.com.