Three areas health plans can improve the member experience

An estimated 16 million more Americans have health insurance under the Affordable Care Act-many for the first time. The online insurance marketplaces have given Americans more choice and control over their own healthcare than they’ve ever had before.

However, entering into this new market with purchasing power can be fraught with confusion, leading to consumer frustration associated with making decisions, navigating applications and enrollment, and understanding available benefits and services.

Health plans are scrambling to respond to this shift in the healthcare economy by finding ways to engage this population of newly insured Americans. They are finding that today's plan members have different needs and expectations than they had in the past.

Payers must meet the changing demands in customer service, and provide more education and guidance to support individual and population health management needs.

Here's a closer look at three areas health plans should focus on to improve the member experience.

1. Application and enrollment

Payers are selling more directly to individual consumers, who are driving selection of their own 

coverage. Consumers are often inexperienced in health insurance coverage and don’t have a benefits manager helping them navigate.

This presents an excellent opportunity for payers to provide personalized, two-way communication to educate consumers about healthcare plan options that meet their individualized cost and care needs, and guide them through the application and enrollment process.

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