SCAN Insiders Share Tips You Can Use, Too

Getting Appointments for Care

Your first-time appointment or your annual wellness visit with your primary care doctor might be scheduled several months away, and that’s because it needs to be a longer appointment. But in the meantime, you can ask for a quick 15-minute visit if you need a referral or refills added to your prescriptions. –April Symonds

Some medical groups allow you to make appointments and communicate with your doctor through the group’s patient portal. This is a great way to get lab results and even ask questions about your results. –Suzanne Ritter

If an appointment with your doctor isn’t readily available, try SCAN’s nurse advice line, SCAN’s Telehealth benefit or going to the urgent care center. –Linda Thompson

Ask if the doctor has a physician’s assistant or if there’s another doctor available in your doctor’s office or clinic who you might see sooner. –Gemma Smith

Request appointments as soon as you know you’ll need them. If you can’t get an appointment in a reasonable time, call SCAN Member Services; they’re often able to step in and help. –Robert Guzman

Know that if you’re not satisfied, you always have the option to change your primary care doctor or medical group. –Brian Gim

Referrals for Specialty Care

Once your primary care doctor submits a request for a referral, check with the doctor’s office or medical group in a week to ask if it has been approved. If the referral was not approved, talk with your doctor to either correct the referral or refer you to another specialist. –Suzanne Ritter

Referrals can take from seven to 10 days to be processed. If you and your doctor decide you need specialty care quickly, you can ask for an urgent referral. –Dottie Sabo

If your doctor recommends a referral, check SCAN’s online provider directory or call Member Services to confirm that the specialist and services being recommended are covered by your SCAN plan. –Robert Guzman

Make sure you have your labs and any notes from your primary care doctor when you visit the specialist because they may not always have them. –Dan Stanick

I find out who is in charge of authorizations in my doctor’s office so I can follow up with them. –Rosario Soriano

Making the Most of Your Benefits

If you’re comfortable going online, I encourage you to use your SCAN online account. It’s a great resource to all your plan benefits. I’ve also found it’s a great way to go paperless that saves me clutter in the house! –Susanne Perez

I encourage members to read the newsletters and other information SCAN sends. I know I appreciate the tips I get from them! –Linda Nikkhoo
(Editor’s note: If you prefer videos, find many helpful ones at scanhealthplan.com/members.)

For more tech-savvy members, I recommend putting scanhealthplan.com/extras in their browser to find details on the extra benefits in their plan. –Jerry Payne

What They Want New Members to Know

Be proactive and learn about your plan. I was so inexperienced when I first had Medicare, but I’ve learned a lot by reading everything related to SCAN and my plan, even the Medicare and You book! –Dottie Sabo

If you speak Korean, SCAN now has a hotline you can call to speak directly to a Korean-speaking Member Services Advocate (1-855-KOR-SCAN). –Mimi Hong

Take the time to know how your healthcare works and the relationship between your doctor, your medical group and SCAN and what each of them does for you. –Suzanne Ritter

Ask any question you like! We are here to help you understand and use your benefits. –Robert Guzman

You made the right choice coming to SCAN! I’ve been a SCAN member for 13 years and SCAN has kept me healthy and independent. –Linda Sweers

The benefits mentioned here by the Senior and Peer Advocates are just some of the benefits available in your SCAN plan—and not all benefits are available in all plans. Find your plan details in your SCAN online member account (scanhealthplan.com/register), in your Evidence of Coverage or by calling SCAN Member Services at 1-800-559-3500 (TTY: 711).