Consumers’ experience with insurers’ digital platforms is improving as they become more familiar with the tools, and supporting their adoption represents a major opportunity for the industry, new research finds.
JD Power released its annual study examining customer attitudes toward digital channels, finding that more than a third (38%) of people enrolled in commercial plans use their insurer’s digital apps. This represents a notable increase from last year, when 31% were actively using health plan apps.
However, the survey found that usage is declining among Medicare Advantage enrollees. Just 10% of MA members use their plan’s mobile app, down 4 percentage points from a year ago.
According to the study, one reason these usage rates are important is because the more consumers use mobile apps, the more they tend to enjoy them. Satisfaction also correlates with the amount of time spent enrolled in the same plan. For example, MA plan subscribers who have had their plan for more than five years are more satisfied with their mobile app experience.
Long-tenured members reported satisfaction scores of 665 on JD Power’s 1000 Pint Scale, 102 points higher than MA members who had been on the plan for less than a year.
Most commercial health plan participants (76%) said they would “definitely” continue using their plan’s mobile app if they had a positive experience, as did 74% of Medicare Advantage beneficiaries. By comparison, the survey found that 29% of commercial plan subscribers and 21% of MA members would “definitely” continue using a digital platform even if they had less experience.
Eric McCready, director of digital solutions at J.D. Power, said in a press release that the findings highlight the opportunity payers need to enhance onboarding and member outreach to drive further adoption of key digital channels.
“Healthcare can be a very complex world to navigate, with members from different customer segments accessing health plan mobile apps and websites with varying degrees of digital sophistication, and with dozens of distinct use cases,” he said.
“The good news is that once health plan members take the time to become familiar with a health plan’s digital channels, the overall customer experience will significantly improve, but it still takes on average a significant amount of time to fully understand,” McCready continued.
Cigna Healthcare had the highest consumer satisfaction with digital channels among commercial plans in its second year, followed by Premera Blue Cross and UnitedHealthcare. UPMC Health Plan also ranks No. 1 in Medicare Advantage for the second year in a row, with Healthfirst tied for No. 2 and Devoted Health and UnitedHealthcare tied for No. 3.
J.D. Power said the study measured consumer satisfaction across five factors: visual appeal, navigation, information and content, speed, and telehealth options.
