New Survey Shows That Health Plans Must Transform To Meet Consumers’ Demands

Business Wire

Conducted by HealthEdge and Porter Research, the State of the Healthcare Consumer survey results underscore the need for health plans to redefine interactions with members to deliver on consumer expectations

BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- HealthEdge®, provider of the only integrated financial, administrative and clinical platform for health insurers, today announced findings from a survey of 2,500 consumers from across the United States that explored their satisfaction with their health insurers. The full survey results, which are available to requestors in a formal report, show that consumers are now demanding that insurers improve communications, raise service levels and expand their offerings to match the experiences they are accustomed to in other industries such as travel, banking and retail.

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Visit www.healthedge.com/survey to view the first in a series of infographics derived from the State of the Healthcare Consumer Survey data. (Photo: Business Wire)

“The survey provided important information related to consumer perceptions; for example, 88 percent of respondents stated that their health plan could be doing a better job of communicating their total financial responsibility, something that should be a core capability for any health plan,” said Steve Krupa, CEO of HealthEdge. “Due in large part to technology limitations, health plans are missing significant opportunities that could result in increased engagement, satisfaction and loyalty. We strongly believe health plans that embrace this opportunity will establish a competitive advantage.”

The survey results indicate that health insurers face four clear obstacles as they strive to transform the relationship between insurer and member to one of trust and reliance:

Health insurers waste millions of dollars and their members waste millions of hours each year trying to answer seemingly straightforward questions and resolve claim disputes, which leads to frustration for everyone and significant and unnecessary resource investment for health plans.
Millennials are the largest population segment in the U.S. and are a force to be reckoned with. These tech savvy, inefficiency-intolerant and incentive-driven young members wield great influence and buying power both now and for a long time to come.
Many members do not consider their health insurer a trusted advisor, valuing instead the advice of family, friends and social networks when making important healthcare decisions.
Whether tech-savvy or not, members expect clear communication and convenient customer service from their health plans across a variety of channels that best meet their needs. With unprecedented choice available, health plans that do not recognize this requirement risk losing members and their competitive position in the marketplace.

The State of the Healthcare Consumer Survey was conducted in partnership with market intelligence and research firm Porter Research. More than 2,500 consumers with health insurance coverage ages 24 and older from across the United States participated in this online survey, which was conducted between May 19^th and May 27^th of this year.

About HealthEdge
HealthEdge® provides modern, disruptive technology that delivers for the first time, a suite of products that enables health insurers to leverage new business models, improve outcomes, drastically reduce administrative costs and connect everyone in the healthcare delivery cycle. Our next-generation enterprise product suite, HealthRules®, is built on modern, patented technology and is delivered to customers via the HealthEdge Cloud or on-site deployment. An award-winning company, HealthEdge empowers health insurers to capitalize on the innovations, challenges and opportunities that await in the new healthcare economy. For more information, visit http://www.healthedge.com.