Several major carriers are incorporating enrollee-reported health risk assessments, or HRAs, into their care or disease management programs to garner a more complete picture of their care needs.
As more consumers complete health risk assessments, payers need to use them to help identify appropriate health interventions for members at risk, a recent Forrester Research report advised.
Exemplifying this trend, Aetna launched its Aetna Health Connections disease management program in September. Individual health information is culled from several sources and fed into Aetna's CareEngine to generate information on members' conditions and identify potential errors or gaps in care.
This gives clinicians "a whole member view," or a comprehensive picture of a member's health status and needs, said Aetna spokeswoman Susan Millerick.
Beginning early next year, Aetna will include data from HRAs completed online. An Aetna data feed will send this data into CareEngine, which uses it, in conjunction with claims data, to generate information on member conditions and care considerations.
"Aetna studies of HRA data correlate to claims data, demonstrating their accuracy and value as an early identification tool, and contributing to a richer, holistic view of members," Millerick said.
Cigna introduced an online HRA on myCIGNA.com for its members in 2004. "These HRAs are connected to our Health Advocacy programs, and the HRA report serves up information on availability of wellness and disease management programs that can address the needs and risks uncovered in the HRA," said Joseph Mondy, a Cigna spokesperson.
Some 7,000 to 8,000 Cigna plan subscribers fill out HRAs each month, and the insurer is able to identify potential risks and provide appropriate solutions for members at risk.
Humana has been using HRAs for some time in its integrated Health and Wellness offerings, but it has now made them available to a broader group of its members.
"Humana believes the use of HRAs has the potential to be transformed from merely providing data into a relationship-building experience with the member," said spokesperson Mary Sellers. "We're looking to take this process to the next level and be able to provide value to the member in exchange for the data they are providing to us."
Lynne Bishop, senior analyst at Forrester Research, noted there is a lot of activity around HRAs. However, she said she believes that payers, providers and employers "can do a lot more to incentivize (their use) and build awareness."