Medicare Advantage (MA) plans are investing heavily in Special Needs Plans (SNPs). Learn all about SNPs and their recent growth.   About The Podcast:   Millions of Americans feel confused and frustrated in their search for quality healthcare coverage.   Between out-of-control costs, countless inefficiencies, a lack of affordable universal access, and little focus on wellness and prevention, the system is clearly in dire need of change.   Hosted by healthcare policy and technology expert Marc S. Ryan, the Healthcare Labyrinth Podcast offers accessible, incisive deep dives on the most pressing issues and events in American healthcare.   Marc seeks to help Americans become wiser consumers and navigate the healthcare maze with more confidence and certainty through The Healthcare Labyrinth website and his book of the same name.   Marc is an unconventional Republican who believes that affordable universal access is a wise and prudent investment. He recommends common-sense solutions to reform American healthcare.   Tune in every week as Marc examines the latest developments in the space, offering analysis, insights, and predictions on the changing state of healthcare in America.   About The Episode:   On this episode, Marc discusses how Medicare Advantage (MA) plans are investing heavily in Special Needs Plans (SNPs). Learn all about SNPs and their recent growth.   Key Takeaways:     While Medicare Advantage (MA) plans are struggling, they are investing heavily in Special Needs Plans (SNPs).   Investments are driven by CMS efforts to integrate Medicare and Medicaid as well as the margin opportunity with these high-revenue enrollees and the ability to reduce excessive cost of care.   There are three types of SNPs – institutional (I-SNPs), chronic condition (C-SNPs), and dual eligible (D-SNPs).   There are three subtypes of D-SNPs – coordination, highly integrated and fully integrated.   SNPs almost went extinct, but CMS has reinvested and laid down robust regulatory and clinical requirements.   SNPs have grown to almost 7.6 million lives -- that is a 106% growth since January 2020.   SNPs now represent about 21.6% of all MA enrollment.   D-SNPs account for 6.060 million as of March 2025, or about 80% of all SNP lives.   C-SNPs have seen robust growth recently.   CMS says in 2025 the number of MA plan offerings overall decreased by 2.8%, including a 6.5% decrease in individual MA plans but an 8.5% increase in SNPs.   Due to the financial crisis, SNP benefits eroded in 2025.   Given the financial crisis, some major national plans lost SNP lives, while others gained.   Connect with Marc   Marc on LinkedIn Marc on Twitter THL Podcast   Resources   THL’s Newsfeed THL’s Blog The Healthcare Labyrinth: A Guide to Navigating Health Plans and Fixing American Health Insurance