Why does your health plan need a Member Resource Center?

When members can find their benefits, they can use their benefits. Make it easier for your members to get the information they need with a Member Resource Center.

A Member Resource Center offers the personal and relevant information your members need to navigate their health and the healthcare system. Offering a resource center to members is critical to the success of your health plan’s Digital Care Management (DCM) strategy.

The goal of a Member Resource Center is to give members a starting point when they have questions about their health or benefits. Articles and information are meant to help members feel confident in their ability to find and understand the information they need. This doesn’t just apply to members with acute or chronic care needs. A resource center is for all members, across diverse populations and risk categories.

When working on product developments and features, it’s important to ask whether the offering will make the member experience simpler and more convenient.

It’s no surprise that member benefits are often underutilized. In a survey, 43% of health plan members said they didn’t understand their health insurance benefits. Your health plan can change that by offering benefits information in a Member Resource Center. This type of offering ensures members always know where to start when they have questions—and it empowers them to take charge of their own health. And if members can’t find the answers they need, or if they have follow-up questions, members know they can reach out to their care teams through 1:1 chat.

Members living with multiple conditions may face additional challenges compared to members managing a single condition. In a 2022 survey, 65% of members with a chronic condition reported that managing their chronic condition increased anxiety, depression, or both. Health plans can help members manage their health by ensuring relevant digital resources are readily available.

A survey published in the Journal of Medical Economics (JME) also found that digital health interventions reduced readmissions by 33% for patients with multimorbidities. Giving members access to support and education through digital health solutions makes it easier for them (and their families) to make the best care decisions for their needs.

Achieving health equity means removing barriers to healthcare access caused by social determinants of health. And that includes offering access to health, wellness, and benefits information that is easy to understand. Improving health literacy can also improve outcomes—members with low health literacy are more likely to use the emergency department and are at a higher risk of readmission than their peers.

Health and wellness information in a Member Resource Center should be written with the average member in mind, so they can educate and advocate for themselves. When patients get information at their reading level, they’re more likely to understand why appointments and medications are necessary.

With a Member Resource Center, health plan benefits information is co-located with clinically reviewed health and wellness articles. Depending on your plan’s and your members’ needs, resources could include educational materials, care management tools, and secure messaging with health plan staff. Health plan staff can see benefits for each member in an integrated dashboard instead of juggling multiple systems.

And the best part? With DCM solutions like Wellframe, this all exists inside an app with demonstrated results.