BCBSM, Healthfirst, CareFirst Community Health Plan, & Drips: MA Strategy Playbook

In this Bright Spots in Healthcare episode, host Eric Glazer brings together payer leaders to explore a fundamental challenge in Medicare Advantage: why strong strategies often fail to translate into sustained performance.

This conversation focuses on the gap between intention and execution, where plans invest heavily in programs, outreach, and data, yet still struggle to drive the member actions that ultimately determine cost, quality, and experience.

This is a candid discussion for executives navigating rising pressure on margins, increasing complexity in member populations, and the growing need to prove performance beyond activity alone.

Our guests include:

• Mike Rapach, President & CEO, CareFirst Community Health Plan Maryland

• Joshua Meeks, Vice President, Medicare Advantage Individual Business, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan

• Jen Cohen-Smith, SVP Medicare, Healthfirst

• Kathleen Faulk, Chief Strategy Officer, Drips

Together, they explore:
Where Medicare Advantage strategies break down, not in design, but in execution

• Why member engagement alone is no longer sufficient to drive outcomes

• How leading plans are shifting from outreach to activation by addressing barriers to action in real time

• What it takes to align product design, pharmacy strategy, and operational workflows to support long-term sustainability

• How organizations are translating insight into action to improve adherence, reduce avoidable utilization, and drive measurable ROI

This episode offers a practical look at how leading plans are redefining performance in Medicare Advantage, and what it takes to ensure that strategy actually delivers results at scale.

Panelist Bios: https://www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com/events/ma-strategy-session-what-actually-drives-long-term-viability/

Download the Episode Guide:
Get key takeaways and expert highlights to help you apply lessons from the episode. Download guide here: https://www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Episode-Guide-MA-Strategy-Session-04-09-26.docx.pdf 

Key Insights Summary:
Find key insights from the discussion, guest takeaways, and detailed moderator notes captured by Eric during the conversation, https://www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/04-09-26-KIS-MA-Strategy-Session_-What-Actually-Drives-Long-Term-Viability-Drips.docx.pdf 

Resources: 

Report: Stop Engaging, Start Activating; The New Architecture of Medicare Advantage Performance

This companion report examines how health plans can close the gap between strategy and execution by focusing on what actually drives performance: whether members take action. Drawing on real-world implementation and emerging activation models, the report shows how identifying friction, understanding barriers, and guiding behavior in real time can improve adherence, reduce avoidable utilization, and strengthen outcomes across cost, quality, and experience.

Inside, you’ll find insights on:

• Identifying where outreach breaks down and why engagement alone fails to drive meaningful outcomes

• Understanding the root causes of non-adherence, including confusion, access barriers, competing priorities, and system design gaps

• Shifting from one-way communication to two-way, real-time conversations that surface and resolve barriers to action

• Designing activation models that guide members through next steps and increase completion of key actions

• Aligning engagement strategies with operational workflows to reduce friction and improve performance at scale

• Why moving from activity-based metrics to action-based outcomes is critical as financial pressure, regulatory changes, and member complexity increase

The broader lesson is operational: the strongest Medicare Advantage models are not defined by how much outreach occurs, but by how effectively plans convert insight into action and ensure follow-through on the moments that matter most.

To request your copy of the report, please contact show producer Jessica Tenzer at [email protected].

Thank You to Our Episode Partner, Drips:

Drips helps health plans and providers drive meaningful member action through AI-powered, two-way communication at scale. By engaging members through familiar channels like text and phone, Drips enables real-time conversations that surface barriers, guide next steps, and improve adherence. Its approach shifts organizations from outreach to activation, helping close care gaps, reduce friction, and deliver more consistent performance across cost, quality, and experience. Learn more at drips.com.

Schedule a Meeting with a Senior Leader at Drips: To explore how Drips can support your organization in moving from engagement to activation and improving member follow-through, reach out to show producer Jessica Tenzer at [email protected] to schedule a conversation with a member of the Drips leadership team.

 

About Bright Spots Ventures:

Bright Spots Ventures is a healthcare strategy and engagement company that creates content, communities, and connections to accelerate innovation.

 

We help healthcare leaders discover what’s working, and how to scale it. By bringing together health plan, hospital, and solution leaders, we facilitate the exchange of ideas that lead to measurable impact. Through our podcast, executive councils, private events, and go-to-market strategy work, we surface and amplify the “bright spots” in healthcare, proven innovations others can learn from and replicate. At our core, we exist to create trusted relationships that make real progress possible. Visit our website at www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com.