As a growing volume of healthcare customers shop for healthcare insurance on their own through state healthcare exchanges, healthcare insurers have a tremendous opportunity to use data to better understand and cater to individual customers.
Since October 2013, more than 8 million Americans have selected a private insurance plan using the Health Insurance Marketplace, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
As competition for individual customers continues to intensify, healthcare insurers can draw on demographic, medical, financial, and behavioral data to identify to better customize the healthcare customer experience for competitive differentiation. For instance, data can be analyzed to determine which patients are likely to generate high costs based on their medical histories, information regarding recent illnesses, and lifestyle behaviors. These types of insights can be used by payers to develop price points for individual plans and to craft personalized messaging and offers to targeted prospects.
Healthcare insurers can also evaluate customer data to help identify the likelihood of an individual to take (or not take) prescription medications regularly. Payers can use draw on customer data (e.g. frequency of prescription refills, results of blood work and other medical examinations) that can be used to develop customized messaging that’s aimed at incenting and persuading customers to take their medications. Customer experience can be approved by providing helpful reminders for taking medications. Meanwhile, payers can benefit by reducing inpatient hospital stays and emergency room visits.
Insurers can also use voice of the customer data gathered from surveys and other feedback mechanisms to identify the components that drive customer satisfaction and loyalty. For instance, a study conducted by CarePayment finds that 95% of customers stress the importance of knowing the total cost of a medical procedure upfront. Payers can use these types of insights to ensure that they’re making this information transparent to customers on its websites and through other channels.
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