Last fall, ACA consumers told us they planned to use open enrollment as an opportunity to shop around (see “ACA: Year 2 – A Consumer Temperature Check”). And our new post-ACA consumer survey reveals that’s exactly what they did: one-third switched to a new health insurer for 2015.
That’s just one of the data points in a report – “ACA: Year 2 – What Shoppers Did… and Why” – compiled with results from the new survey. Conducted right after the conclusion of open enrollment in partnership with Competiscan, the survey was designed to capture how healthcare consumers shopped and to learn what motivated them.
The results point to ways that insurers can improve the member experience and prepare for future open enrollment periods. For example,
- Retention will be an annual challenge for exchange products. – 32% of healthcare exchange customers switched insurers. This compares with an average of 13% of Medicare members who change insurers each year and less than 8% of consumers on employer-sponsored plans.*
- Insurers must develop solutions that balance cost and coverage. – Consumers rank premiums, benefits and out-of-pocket costs as more important than provider networks and insurer reputations.
- Tools and support are necessary to help members feel in control of their healthcare. – Only 35% of ACA consumers said they fully understand plan benefits, and only 36% fully understand how their deductibles work.
- Content marketing and strategic SEO can help insurers when consumers go online. – 53% reported visiting a health insurer’s website, and 25% consulted a health insurer’s online reviews. In addition to hard-working websites, payers need proactive content strategies that may include social media, blogs and responses to comments on third-party sites.
For additional data and associated healthcare marketing insights, view the full report.
“ACA: Year 2 – What Shoppers Did… and Why” is based on a survey designed and analyzed by researchers at Competiscan and Media Logic. The survey was conducted February 27 – March 1, 2015, among a nationally represented sample of 157 adults, ages 26 through 60, who had purchased health insurance through a federal or state exchange during the second ACA open enrollment period.
*per HHS March 2015