Eighty-eight percent of patients say their health plan could be doing a better job of communicating their financial responsibility, according to a new report by Massachusetts-based HealthEdge. And according to the findings, that lack of transparency can cost plans millions in unnecessary spending.
HealthEdge's report card for health plans shows an industry that is struggling to meet consumer demands. Benefits are poorly communicated to members, the survey found, and members are often faced with charges they don't understand, resulting in disputes. Those same members spend an estimated 30 million hours per year trying to resolve these charges, only occasionally resulting in a positive change.
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This costs health plans more than $654 million per year in unnecessary claims resolution calls, the report found. The implication is that strong feelings of dissatisfaction among its customers can compromise the competitive position of a health plan.
The report pins much of this dissatisfaction on the rise of consumerism, claiming that health plans should be ready and able to meet heightened member expectations. By not providing service levels that match or exceed customer expectations, they risk losing business to their competitors.
There are small things a health plan can do to address this, according to HealthEdge. Offering discounts on gym memberships -- a benefit in which a majority of those surveyed expressed interest -- is one. Providing members with condition-specific support groups is another.
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But perhaps the report's biggest prescription for insurers is to personalize their offerings, especially for millennials.
Improving technological benefits would play a large role in that. Deloitte, in their Consumer Survey of 2015, reported that the use of technology to measure health and fitness goals was the highest among millennials, at 45 percent of that group; Those in generation X ranked at about 30 percent, by contrast. Yet despite their affinity for technology, most millennials surveyed rated the value of communicating with their plan electronically as very low.
Ninety percent of millennials, meanwhile, said they believed their insurer should be doing a better job communicating with them about their individual financial responsibility. That was the highest percentage among all age groups surveyed.
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No matter which generation the respondents belonged to, dissatisfied members seemed willing to switch their health plans in search of greater overall value. Thirty-seven percent who ranked their health coverage as "not at all valuable" had been with their health plan for less than one year compared to those who rated their health plan as "somewhat" or "very" valuable.
Metrics should be put in place, the report said, fueled by customer satisfaction surveys. And those metrics should address the concerns of those who rate the plan coverage and benefits poorly.
Twitter: @JELagasse