People who qualify for Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) can enroll year-round and switch plans once a quarter, giving D-SNP insurers a unique opportunity to nurture prospects continuously. But just because eligibles have more flexibility of when to enroll and switch, doesn’t mean they do that – and it also doesn’t mean that the plan marketing schedule reflects that flexibility, either.
We took a look at the 2022 data, which was provided by Competiscan, to better understand the calendar cadence of both direct mail (DM) deployments and D-SNP enrollments.
We set out to answer two questions:
- When do health plans deploy D-SNP-focused DM throughout the year?
- Does this align with when DSNP enrollment occurs?
Here’s what we found.
Nearly 50% of DM is deployed in Q4, with 34% being deployed in October alone. This overwhelmingly popular deployment schedule aligns with D-SNP enrollment – January effectives account for 31% of annual enrollment.
Q1 is the next most active period of DM activity with 20% of annual DM being deployed during the first three months of the year, and over 9% in February alone.
Other than January effectives, enrollment stays relatively consistent throughout the year – averaging just over 6% each month, with a couple of highs in February and May (8%) and a valley in December (2%). Take a look at the data below.
As for the hypothesis that Q3 may be an enrollment opportunity because D-SNP members have used up their allowances, the data doesn’t support it. That could be due to the fact that many allowances are now distributed on a monthly basis, or because allowances tend to be so substantial that members don’t run out.
We’ll keep an eye on updated data to see if the trends continue. Stay tuned for more.
To make the most of marketing to the D-SNP audience, check out our downloadable tip sheet on acquiring, onboarding and retaining dual-eligible members. Get to know the audience with recent trends and stats on the D-SNP market and prospects.
Any questions? Reach out to Media Logic today.