Empathy is one of the most widely discussed topics in product design and user experience in the healthcare industry. As technology rapidly develops, it has several impacts on consumer care. In terms of healthcare products, applying empathy means having the ability to understand and uncover what people need and implementing what we discover.
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Social media is a global phenomenon transforming the way people consume information, research, and news. In the United States, 196 million people used multiple social media platforms in 2016 and a forecasted 216 million will join by 2021. Included in these populations are healthcare professionals utilizing social networking and publishing tools to share their knowledge. On the opposite end are millennials looking for on-demand healthcare advice and treatment.
With doctors and nurses making this information readily available, social media is quickly revolutionizing healthcare. According to ReferralMD, “More than 40% of consumers say that information found via social media affects the way they deal with their health.”
Here’s a close look at how social media is changing the way people perceive, consume, and internalize healthcare.
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Softheon’s 2019 Open Enrollment period has been one of the most successful to date. Before November 1, we made significant updates to our processes, including increasing the throughput of enrollment records and reducing manual work. These updates resulted in faster turnaround for consumers. Now that Open Enrollment is over, all issuers should be focusing on membership retention. This is especially important considering the individual mandate, which required individuals to obtain health insurance or face tax penalties, is no longer applicable. Conducting outreach to members will help but, what else can an issuer do to increase the retention?
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What’s Happening?
With the United States federal government shutdown approaching the three-week mark, Democrats and Republicans have reached a stalemate. Negotiations to unlock about one quarter of the government have been frozen for over two weeks. The growing impact on healthcare and health programs is beginning to pile up.
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John’s Healthcare Journey
John Smith is your average consumer searching for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). John shops for a plan through the Health Insurance Marketplace (HIM) and finds a plan perfect for he and his wife, Jane. John clicks submit and realizes he forgot to add his wife. John edits his plan and sits back, relieved to see he was able to fix his plan accordingly. A few weeks later, John gets his first bill in the mail, but it’s missing Jane! John is confused and spent quite some time working with a customer service representative to get his policy corrected. Once his policy was corrected, he received his ID card, but Jane does not! Confused again, John gets back on the phone with a customer service representative.
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Last year unveiled advancements in healthcare technology, newly proposed regulations to our healthcare system, and updates from the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). As we welcome the new year, take a look at our top 10 stories of 2018.
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Digital transformation in healthcare technology is top-of-mind for the upcoming year. We can expect to see reinvention and reuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Insurtech, population health management, predictive analytic tools, and connected clouds. The digitalization of the healthcare industry involves a slow and tedious implementation but, with the intention of improving traditional business models. These upcoming technology trends will focus on measurable outcomes and ultimately transform patients’ lives and the well-being of Americans.
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With growing technological advancements, consumers’ options to pay for services have expanded over the last few years. Consumers are no longer restricted to paying with cash or even point of sale (POS) terminals. We’ve seen a revolution of mobile payment apps like Venmo, Apple Pay, PayPal, etc. A physical card is no longer necessary to pay for goods or services.
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What Happened?
Last Friday, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor of Texas ruled the Affordable Care Act (ACA) unconstitutional. Congress stated that the Supreme Court supported the ACA in 2012 because it contained the individual mandate or a tax penalty for Americans who didn’t purchase a health insurance plan. Once Congress revoked the Individual Mandate in 2017, O’Connor concluded the rest of the law fell apart. “In sum, the Individual Mandate is so interwoven with [the ACA’s] regulations that they cannot be separated. None of them can stand,” O’Connor wrote. He made this decision after 18 Republican state attorney general and 2 GOP governors stated their case.
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Last week, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) confirmed the risk adjustment program for the 2018 benefit year. The rule finalized the risk adjustment procedure previously established for the 2018 benefit year, permitting health plans offering coverage in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace to receive funds through the program.
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