Improving Health Benefit Comprehension, One Member at a Time

One in five working Americans failed an employee benefits quiz, according to a recent study from the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. Interestingly, 80 percent of those surveyed believed that they knew their benefits very well. The survey also pointed out that just two years ago in 2014, 66 percent of Americans believed their employer did a good job educating them about their benefits. This year, that percentage dropped to 47.

What does this mean to CDPHP^®? Well for one thing, it means that our efforts to consistently examine how we communicate with our valued employer groups and members are more important than ever. When a new project is developed or an existing initiative is re-examined, we always ask ourselves the same questions:

• Are we using terms our members will understand instead of health care jargon and language used mostly internally?
• Are we cutting to the chase, or wasting time with extraneous details?
• Does this communication add intrinsic value, or can it be rolled into another project to avoid duplication of efforts?

As a product innovator, the answers to these questions can be hard to swallow. We may get excited to bring a new product or idea to market, but after pitching it to a cross-functional team, we more often than not find ourselves back at the drawing board or going down another path entirely.

Here are just some of the many ways we’re doing our best to ensure employers and members fully understand – and get the most value from – their medical benefits:

CDPHP Insights. Earlier this year, we launched CDPHP Insights, an online community designed to elicit important feedback to improve the overall member experience. Not only are we using the community to gather thoughts on existing programs, but we’re also testing new ideas that haven’t even been brought to market yet. The results have been fascinating and we look forward to expanding this community’s reach in the coming year.

Personalized messaging. Gone are the days (if they were ever appropriate) of one-size-fits-all messages. Just as we’ve come to expect personalized promotional emails (Macy’s knew I’d fall in love with those riding boots!), the communications you receive about your health care shouldn’t be any different. We’ve worked hard to ensure that our employer groups and members are receiving updates relevant to them and their specific benefit plans. For example, if you have a health funding account through CDPHP, you probably receive our quarterly consumer-directed health emails with pertinent news and updates that are of value to you. If you’re managing a chronic health condition, hopefully you’re aware of and taking advantage of case management services. Our talented team of nurses and social workers makes sure that members are educated about and have access to all of the resources available to them. Lastly, our partnership with Landmark Health ensures that Medicare members are able to get the care they need without ever setting foot outside of their homes.

High deductible health plan education. Employers are being forced to make tough decisions these days as pharmaceutical, hospital, and overall health care costs continue to rise. A frequent change we’re seeing is the shift from traditional copay plans to high deductible health plans. For people who have never had to worry about a deductible or coinsurance before, this change can be overwhelming. We launched our Consumer-Directed Health site in 2015 to address topics specific to high deductible plans, including health funding accounts, prescription drug coverage, and more.

Online tools and expert guidance for decision-making. If you’re shopping for health insurance or choosing between plans offered by your employer, we can help. CDPHP recently developed an open-enrollment checklist to help individuals sort through their options and arrive at a plan that works for them and/or their families. Shoppers can also get a quick, free, personalized quote that meets their unique health insurance needs.

Prefer to talk to someone in person? We thought you might. CDPHP is proud to operate CDPHP Customer Connect℠ locations within our community where members and soon-to-be members can walk in to speak with a knowledgeable representative about their insurance needs.

If you’re a small business looking for a plan(s) to offer to your employees, we can provide you with an instant, free quote followed by a phone call from a small business account representative to ensure that all of your questions are answered. Knowledgeable CDPHP sales representatives are paired with groups as soon as they sign on with us. They’re friendly, enthusiastic, and will work with employers and brokers to offer tailored support in the form of in-person meetings, worksite benefit overviews, and more.

If you’re already a CDPHP member, logging in to our website gives you information right at your fingertips. You can view your claims, check on your funding account balances, substantiate claims, and more with a click of a mouse. Check out Top 10 Reasons to Login for more tips for using the member site to better understand your benefits.

Social media, networking, and blogs. Right, wrong, or indifferent, people are inundated with information on social media. It can be hard to separate the facts from fiction, so we have committed to keeping Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and our blog, The Daily Dose, updated with information relevant to not only our members, but also the entire community. Follow us to stay up to date on current events and trends in health care and beyond.

At CDPHP, serving our members is our top priority, and that begins with making sure that they get the education they need to make informed health care decisions. Now, more than ever, health care is changing, and we are committed to helping our members navigate those changes – first and foremost by educating ourselves. If you have feedback for us, we highly encourage you to join CDPHP Insights. If you have questions, visit a CDPHP Customer Connect location near you to get personalized answers and recommendations. It’s all part of our promise to deliver the high-quality service you have come to expect.