Want to control member churn? Start by owning the first 100 days

Most people don’t leave a Medicare Advantage plan because of one dramatic failure. It’s rarely that simple. What happens more often is silence. Confusion. Missed expectations. A growing feeling that this plan might not be right for them and no one noticing until they’ve already moved on.

That decision usually starts taking shape long before anyone sees it in the numbers. In fact, it almost always begins in the first 100 days.

And if you’re not actively shaping the member experience during that time, you’re giving churn the breathing room it needs to take hold.

Why early churn happens, even when everything seems fine

From the outside, those early weeks might look quiet. The member gets their ID card, maybe calls once with a question, maybe doesn’t. But under the surface, they’re forming impressions. They’re trying to make sense of what they signed up for. They’re weighing whether this plan fits their life or makes it harder.

This is when expectations and reality collide.

Maybe they were promised simple prescriptions and end up on hold for an hour trying to transfer theirs. Maybe they don’t realise they need to pick a primary care doctor, and their first urgent visit becomes a paperwork headache. Maybe they don’t know if they even have a dental benefit.

It’s not usually one big problem. It’s a dozen little frictions that quietly erode trust.

By the time they get to the Open Enrolment Period, many members already know how they feel. If they feel cared for, understood, and confident, they’ll stay. If they don’t, they’ll start looking and likely leave.
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What the first 100 days should feel like

Think about the last time you tried something new- a service, a product, even joining a new club. The first few interactions mattered more than anything. They told you whether this was going to be easy, supportive, confusing, frustrating, or helpful.

Your members are no different. Those first weeks aren’t just routine; they set the tone for everything that follows.

They need to feel:

• That they made the right decision

• That they know how to use their plan

• That someone is looking out for them

• That they’re not alone if they’re confused

Without that, you risk losing people not because your benefits aren’t good, but because they never figured out how to experience them in the first place.

How to make the first 100 days count

Let’s break this down into three natural stages in a new member’s experience. If you can show up well in each one, you’ll set the tone for a much longer and more loyal relationship.
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1. Orientation: “What exactly did I sign up for?”

The first few days are when the member is still making sense of what’s changed. They have a lot of questions, even if they’re not asking them.

This is where most plans fall short. They assume the member read the handbook or remembered what the sales rep said. But in reality, many new members are overwhelmed or just unsure where to begin.

No jargon. No 20-page PDF. Just kindness, clarity, and a little direction.
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2. Activation: “Can I actually use this?”

Once a member knows what they have, they need to take action. The sooner they do, the more likely they are to stay.

This might mean:

• Booking their first wellness visit

• Calling their new primary care doctor

• Filling a prescription under the new plan

Your job here isn’t just to make that possible, but to make it easy.

A quick phone call to walk them through their prescription coverage can save them weeks of frustration. A simple reminder about their dental benefit can be the moment they realise this plan is better than their last one.
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3. Emotional buy-In: “Is this really working for me?”

This is the turning point- when a member decides whether this plan genuinely works for them, or if they’re quietly planning to leave at the next opportunity.

By now, they’ve had real interactions. Maybe they’ve visited the doctor. Maybe they’ve tried to refill a prescription. Maybe they’ve had to call customer service. Those experiences are shaping their trust or their disappointment.

You don’t need grand gestures to earn loyalty. You just need to consistently show members that they’re not navigating this alone.

Invest in a tool that acts like a member’s personal guide

No matter how strong your onboarding process is, there’s a limit to what can be done through emails, brochures, or even phone calls. Members live in real-time and when they need help, they don’t want to wait. That’s why more and more health plans are starting to see the value in investing in a digital tool that behaves like a personal guide.

Something that can:

• Understands and speaks members language

• Be available 24/7  

• Explain benefits clearly, without complex terms or legal speak

• Help members quickly search for and find nearby, in-network providers

• Offer relevant, personalized next steps based on each member’s situation

Too often, members are left navigating outdated web portals or thumbing through 40-page brochures just to answer a simple question. And when they can’t find what they need, they give up, or worse- assume the plan just isn’t working for them.

When you pair human empathy with the right kind of digital support, you don’t just reduce calls or deflect questions. You actually build trust. You show members that you’ve thought about their day-to-day needs, and you’ve designed your support around their life, not your structure.

A short message that checks in, "How are you doing today?” becomes so much more powerful when the member knows they have real, on-demand help behind it.

What Should You Be Measuring?

To know if your early experience is working, look at more than just disenrollment numbers. Focus on signs that members are engaging and feeling confident.

Track things like:

• How many new members completed a welcome call?

• How many activated their portal account or app?

• How many booked a wellness visit in the first 90 days?

• How many used a benefit like dental, vision, or OTC?

• How many called back after your outreach and what did they ask about?

These give you the early signals. They show you where members are leaning in and where they might be falling away.

Final thoughts

If your goal is to improve retention, reduce churn, and protect your star ratings, don’t wait until problems show up in the data. By then, members have already made up their minds.

Instead, start where their journey begins.

When you own the first 100 days with empathy, clarity, and the right support, you do more than reduce churn. You build loyalty. You turn confusion into confidence. And you create a member experience that actually feels like care.

Start there. Start now. Start with Day One.

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