By Cathy Tripp, MBA, National Leader for Consumerism, Watson Wyatt Worldwide
With nearly 40 percent of large employers now offering a consumer-directed health plan (CDHP) and other consumer-directed health care products and programs, the need for user-friendly health care tools is greater than ever. Yet consumers enrolled in these programs have virtually the same access to tools and support services that employees in traditional plans have. While there may be differences in how often they visit sites, it´s clear that the current set of tools is not meeting the needs of all consumers. Most national health plans will tell you that members enrolled in CDHPs visit their health plan sites more than non-CDHP members. One reason is that they come to see their account balances. Another reason is that they have more incentives to manage their health. Overall, the login volume of unique users to health plan sites ranges between 5 percent and 45 percent for most employer populations—much lower than what health plan sites would like. Why?
• No need. On average, about 70 percent of the population have annual claims between $0 and $1,500. These consumers may not see any need to use any CDHP tools.
• No identity. Many consumers never create a user name and password with the health plan, or they stop when they get to the login screen because they forgot their password. Also some health plans sites don´t have a single sign-on with the pharmacy site, creating the need for yet another login and password.
• No clue. In a recent survey, we found that consumers most frequently go to friends and family for advice on where to seek quality information. In addition, we often find through focus groups that employees are not aware of existing Web-based educational tools.
Why aren´t consumers using health care portals to find information?
• No context. Many don´t meet user needs and are difficult to find on health care plan portals. Most do not provide customized messaging, causing many users to use a search engine instead. On a typical day, about 8 million consumers in the
• No help. Information that consumers might find the most valuable is generally not available, e.g., the cost of a specific treatment, or better yet, a more personalized breakdown of out-of-pocket costs that considers the employee´s treatment, provider and deductible.
What can employers do to help bridge this gap?
1. Encourage all employees to create a user name and password on their health plan site. Make this part of your open enrollment communication.
2. Most plan sites license content from credible sources, so encourage employees to read and use the information.
3. Educate employees about how to use the Internet effectively for searches on health care information. Give employees helpful links (e.g., www.nih.gov, www.mayoclinic.com) and tips on using each site.
4. Show employees how to research hospital quality through available tools and public domain sites (e.g., www.leapfroggroup.org, www.ncqa.org). Incorporate local quality sites, too. Train employees on how to use the tools for friends and family even if they don´t need it for themselves.
5. Continuously reinforce messages throughout the year about different Web tools, using scenarios and real-life examples where possible. Target the healthy employees by highlighting tools they might find useful, like menu planners, risk assessments and weight trackers.
6. Consider incentives or contests that drive the use of tools. Some employers have scavenger hunts that require employees to answer specific questions and "drive through" the site to be eligible for a prize. To date, most employers have relied on health plans for health care Web tools and data, but many new players (e.g., Revolution Health, Microsoft, Intuit and others) are waiting for their opportunity. And if health plans don´t get it right, they will be replaced. Useful tools and information are just too critical to consumer education and engagement to accept second best.
Cathy Tripp also leads the national consumer research activities for Watson Wyatt Worldwide from the
