6 ways health plans can build a better member experience strategy
“Member experience” and “member engagement” are healthcare hot topics. While health plan leaders know these metrics are key to winning and retaining business, it can be difficult to know what makes for an ideal member experience. We asked our experts to share their experiences so other health plans can build a better member experience strategy.
The consensus? Technology plays a crucial role in building a better member experience. But the person behind the digital interaction is just as important. So what does a positive member experience actually look like? And how can your plan use digital health technology to improve member satisfaction, benefits utilization, and plan loyalty?
1. Establish a convenient digital channel
Building a better member engagement strategy starts with meeting members where they are—on their smartphones. Connecting your members to essential information is the foundation of a better member experience. It can be difficult for members to know where to look when they have questions or want to find personalized information. With a convenient channel like a mobile app, members always have a place to start.
2. Centralize health and benefits information
The healthcare system is notoriously hard to navigate. But what if members can find their remaining deductible, HSA balance, providers, and employer benefits all in one place? A mobile resource center can help improve member trust and satisfaction with their plan. Plus, once members know their benefits, they’re more likely to use them.
3. Make healthcare approachable
People with limited health literacy tend to have higher rates of hospitalization and often skip important preventive care. Make sure you can deliver content that breaks down confusing topics—from understanding costs to staying in network—to help members become informed self-advocates.
4. Connect members to human support
If a member needs extra help understanding a bill or coverage, make sure they can ask questions, on their own time, right through that same mobile channel. For some plans, this means offering secure 1:1 messaging between members, care teams, and plan staff. This allows members to ask questions as they arise. It also enables care teams and plan staff to seamlessly transfer members and share information quickly.
5. Coordinate care and resources
75% of health plan members live with at least one chronic condition. Make sure your staff and care teams can reach them through a single digital point of contact. Your plan can help streamline healthcare navigation—whether it’s booking doctor’s appointments on members’ behalf, connecting them to real-time billing support, or putting them in touch with community resources.
6. Individualize support across the member’s health journey
Your members’ needs may be ever-changing, and a triggering health event can require intensive and timely support. If a care team learns a member needs additional assistance, they can more easily triage those members and address their needs with digital care management. This includes personalized care programs delivered in the form of an interactive daily checklist, complete with surveys, digestible articles, and tips that can help members manage their health at home.
Member expectations are constantly changing, and it’s vital that your plan can keep up with those demands to stay ahead of your competition. To better understand how technology can improve the health plan member experience, we surveyed health plan leaders across the U.S.
See the results and hear from industry experts in our on-demand webinar:
Why health plans are empowering members with Advocacy