Recently, my company was selected by AARP Services, Inc., AARP’s wholly-owned subsidiary, to create, operate, and pilot an AARP- branded online marketplace designed exclusively for people 50 and over. The Connecture online marketplace helps people shop for financial products, health insurance and other policies that supplement a consumer’s medical coverage. We were excited to roll out the marketplace in 8 states in October (and more to come in 2017), but there’s a bigger story behind this announcement.
For several years, healthcare as an industry has been undergoing a dramatic transformation. Critical reforms to the healthcare system, including expanded coverage for millions and greater emphasis on cost savings, improved outcomes, and prevention and wellness initiatives have moved the individual closer to the center of the healthcare ecosystem. And we can expect to see even more change in 2017 with the new Administration.
Today’s healthcare consumer has more freedom of choice than ever before, but that freedom comes with both responsibilities and risks as it pertains to their health and financial security. In an increasingly connected and digitized landscape, the name of the game for health insurance is engagement—creating consumer-centric and consumer–friendly tools to help people compare, shop and enroll in health plans and ancillary options that fit their needs.
Amazon.com for Healthcare?
During the electronic health record and data standardization boom, industry thought leaders often looked to banking as an inspiration. Go to any ATM anywhere in the world, they would say, and you could access funds from your account instantaneously. The same should be true of a patient’s healthcare information.
The analogy was inexact, but the idea had merit.
Today, service verticals are most often mentioned by healthcare’s thought leaders as industries to draw important lessons from. It’s not hard to land on think pieces arguing that healthcare should model itself more like Amazon.com, American Express or any number of hotel and travel outlets—at least when it comes to customer experience.
Again, recognizing value within the broad framework of this idea is easy, but misleading. Investing in healthcare coverage isn’t as easy—or as consequential—as clicking a pair of shoes into an electronic shopping cart. Most adult Americans have bought shoes online, but the same cannot be said for purchasing health benefits. The consequences of ill-fitting penny loafers are annoying. The consequences of purchasing the wrong health plan are far-reaching and potentially disastrous.
Most consumers haven’t had to sweat the nuances of health insurance because that was something that always had been worked out by employers. Once a year, an HR manager would present two or three mostly similar plans. Employees would pick one, then go back to work.
Today, more consumers have “skin in the game,” either in the form of employer-sponsored high-deductible plans or shopping and enrolling in plans independent of a workplace. Without the right tools and information, it is frighteningly easy to make a choice that falls far short of their actual healthcare needs.
So while health insurance may never be exactly like Kayak.com or Amazon, many health plans and organizations that offer healthcare coverage realize that consumers need ways to make an informed choice with confidence.
What Do Consumers Really Want?
Helping consumers make the right choice from among dozens of health and ancillary options is one of the most important services a health plan or broker can offer. And the best way to help a customer is to understand the customer.
Connecture recently conducted an extensive survey of 2,100+ consumers to better understand how people shop for healthcare insurance, what they prioritize, and what they expect from their health plan investment. What we found, not surprisingly, is that many Americans consider shopping for and enrolling in health insurance to be a stressful and dissatisfying experience.
Additionally, according to the survey, 87 percent of consumers prefer to shop and enroll for healthcare on their own—but only 20 percent actually complete the process on their own. What does this tell us? Access to information is not the problem, understanding it is.
Shopping for health insurance online is difficult—and the health insurance industry needs to continue to evaluate opportunities that create not just more consumer touchpoints, but help them become more informed and confident shoppers.
For example, leverage technology and intuitive platforms that interactively walk consumers through the decision-making process, and leads them to an informed decision based on the answers to certain factors, such as their age, family status, health history, risk tolerance, etc. By offering technology that helps consumers not just make a choice but the best choice for their individual situations, and their families, you can add immeasurable value.
Engage the Consumer Through Multiple Support Channels
According to our survey, 70 percent of respondents visited a health insurers’ website—in many cases, multiple times—before enrolling into a health plan. Forty-five percent of consumers are likely to call a broker for assistance. Sixty-two percent would use an online plan advisor tool to help find a plan, and 44 percent would chat online with a health insurance advisor. This suggests that consumers are willing to invest the time it takes to make the right decisions about their health and specific needs.
But decision support technology is not the only support mechanism you should provide consumers. Consider offering robust and transparent help to those that need it, when they need it through channels such as, live call center support, avatar technology, video tutorials and FAQs. Anything you can do to engage and empower the consumer (year round!) with knowledge and confidence will position you and your company as the hero in what is often a messy and fragmented healthcare world.
Health insurance is already complex and intimidating enough on its own for most people. By incorporating the right technology and engagement tactics, you can help your clients’ employees and members find the health plan and other benefits that suit them best. You can also help them take full advantage of the benefits they do select, creating greater satisfaction and loyalty. It is important for benefits pros and brokers to transform their organizations benefits offerings to align better with what consumers value. After all, the future may be about retention – not just enrollment.
The views, opinions and positions expressed within these guest posts are those of the author alone and do not represent those of Becker’s Hospital Review/Becker’s Healthcare. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them.
