This Weekend We Welcomed October—And Health Plans from VNS Health!
Autumn is in the air: Leaves are turning, the air is getting chillier, football teams are back in action, and the next step in our rebranding continues. As part of VNS Health’s rebrand, the shift of most of the organization’s Medicare and Medicaid health plans to their new VNS Health branding officially took place this past Saturday, October 1, just in time for Medicare’s annual open enrollment period, which kicks off in mid-October. The plans, known collectively as VNS Health Health Plans—or more informally, health plans from VNS Health—also have a new website, vnshealthplans.org, which launched on Saturday as well.
With this rebrand, VNS Health will be retiring the name CHOICE (standing for Community and Homecare Options for the Integrated Care of the Elderly), the brand which the health plans have been marketed under for the past 24 years. Once our plan members formally transition to the 2023 versions of their health plans on January 1st, our five health plans’ new names will be as follows:
- VNS Health EasyCare
- VNS Health EasyCare Plus
- VNS Health Total
- VNS Health MLTC
- SelectHealth from VNS Health (SelectHealth, which has its own branding, shifted to the VNS Health brand this past summer. Click here to visit the SelectHealth website.)
The timing of the Health Plans rebrand was driven by the calendar, says Hany Abdelaal, President, Health Plans. “Medicare members are used to seeing changes in their plans occur at the start of a new plan year,” he explains, “so it makes sense to roll out the rebrand now, as we begin to market our 2023 Medicare products.”
VNS Health’s three Medicare plans, EasyCare, EasyCare Plus and Total, will all begin accepting enrollments for the 2023 calendar year as of October 15. Advertising aimed at encouraging people to enroll in the 2023 Medicare plans will include radio spots, social media and digital advertising, and print ads in local newspapers. “We’ll also be advertising on bus shelters and other out-of-home locations in our key geographic markets,” says Cindy Zanca, Vice President of Marketing. The advertising features the enhanced benefits for VNS Health’s Medicare plans for 2023, adds Zanca, and is appearing in English, Spanish and Chinese in order to reach New York’s diverse communities.
While the SelectHealth, MLTC and Total plans have all been operating for a number of years, the organization’s two newest Medicare Advantage (MA) plans—EasyCare and EasyCare Plus—began in 2022, and both plans are looking to build on their strong first-year performance. “In this highly competitive New York market, our new MA plans experienced positive enrollment every month of this year, and we’re now approaching 2,500 members enrolled in the two plans,” notes David Robinson, Vice President of Sales and Partnership Development for the health plans. “We’re also getting very good feedback about the plans’ benefits.”
In alignment with VNS Health’s mission, all of its health plans have benefits and a fee structure that are well-suited to people with low income levels: MLTC and SelectHealth are offered solely to Medicaid recipients—while among VNS Health’s Medicare plans, many EasyCare members receive low-income subsidies, EasyCare Plus is available only to people who receive both Medicare and Medicaid, and VNS Health Total actually combines Medicare and Medicaid benefits—including long term care benefits for people who need ongoing help with activities of daily living to live safely in the comfort of their homes.
“As a group, our five plans give New Yorkers access to a full range of Medicare and Medicaid plans they can afford and that truly meet their healthcare needs,” says Hany, “no matter how complex and challenging those needs might be.”
