But we still feel like we’re going to have a much heavier weighting of our growth outside of the annual enrollment period from February to December. And this is really just a continuation of a trend that we have seen play out over the last five years really. And in fact, last year, we drove 430,000 lives of growth or about 60% of our total growth in the period from February to December. This is a portion of the selling season that we really do well in given our large dual footprint and also the fact that some of the selling and AEP tends to be focused on some of those headline benefits that have been really aggressively positioned. And throughout the remainder of the year, there tends to be some switching back as folks think more deeply about things like network, the fulfillment of supplemental benefits, overall service and delivery of product.
So I guess the headline is it is a very aggressive marketplace this year. We feel like we’re positioned really well for ‘25 and ‘26 on how we priced, and very pleased with what we’ve done so far and excited about our opportunity, once again, to have a really great growth in the selling period from February to December of ‘24.
Andrew Witty: Right, Tim. Thanks so much. Last question, please operator.
Operator: We’ll go next to Gary Taylor with Cowen.
Gary Taylor: Hi, good morning. Most of my questions has been asked. I’ll throw this one out, too. We’ve been seeing more articles about health system just dropping their MA contracts, some of those articles sites, United I know — historically, most of these types of contracts that, you know, conflicts that make the press historically ultimately come to terms, so I’m just wondering, is this just a media threat? Or do you think there’s something more measurable happening here with your health system partners?
Andrew Witty: Hey, Gary, thanks so much. Let me ask Brian to respond to that.
Brian Thompson: Hey Gary, thanks for the question. I would say, overall, the disruptions that we see in the market this year are, I would say, at/or even lower than historical comparisons on average, leaving 2023. I will say though that any disruption for our consumers is too much. They come to rely on an in-network provider relationship. They have a coverage expectation from their health plan. So we obviously want to avoid that type of network disruption. And we, however, do need to balance that ambition with affordability. Now as we speak specifically to the Medicare Advantage space, we did have some deals that came down to the wire. And I do think that had some impact on AEP. And again, going to Tim’s commentary around our confidence February forward, where we have those deals intact, I think you’ll see that response in our growth as well. But again, on average, really not much change overall compared to historical periods on disruption.
Andrew Witty: Yes. No, it’s well said, Brian. And I think, obviously, Gary, we — what you seen on behalf of patients, on behalf of government to make sure that we’re getting the very best cost associated for the care delivered. And it’s important that, that negotiation is robust. And the good news is that the overwhelming majority get resolved. We really don’t like to see disruption happen. Unfortunately, occasionally, it does. But rest assured, we’re making good progress in this area. As Brian said, no real kind of difference in outcome to what we’ve seen in previous years. With all of that, let me say thank you for all of your questions. Very much appreciated. And as you’ve heard, we’re confident in our mission, focused on our growth pillars, delivering innovation that matters and disciplined in our operations and in our approach to the market.
And we look forward to delivering on our commitments in 2024 to our customers, patients and shareholders. Very much appreciate your attention this morning. Thank you, and look forward to talking with you between calls. Thank you very much.
Operator: That will conclude today’s call. We appreciate your participation.
