Consumer Decision Support
Health Plan Choices
Shopping for health insurance is widely known to be a difficult process for consumers. This is due both to the complex nature of the product itself, as well as many practical challenges of identifying and bringing together the right information to help a consumer make an educated choice.
Trailblazers in this space
We were the first to provide consumers with personalized estimates of out of pocket costs, starting 40 years ago in our guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees. We broke ground again in 2015, introducing the first all-plan provider lookup in a plan shopping experience for ACA enrollees in Illinois.
Unfinished business
We have been working on this problem for decades, and while we can’t say we’ve solved it, we’ve made some significant innovations and developed some tools to help make it easier.
Looking to the future
Today we are still innovating, interviewing consumers, Navigators, assisters, and others to understand how to help consumers make choices based on value rather than just premium, or just a low deductible.
Our Efforts Focus on a Number of Areas
Streamlining Information
Improving the way out of pocket estimates are defined and presented to consumers to help them choose plans.
Shift Consumers to a Value-Oriented Mindset
Identifying messaging and other techniques that guide consumers mindset health toward value-oriented shopping rather than reactions to plan features like premiums, deductibles.
Help Consumers Shop for Provider Networks
Helping consumers understand provider networks through analysis and presentation that provides consumers with details relevant to their specific situation.
Featured Works
Consumer Network ID – A Proposal for Helping Consumers Understand Coverage of Doctors They Care About
New Consumer Testing Shows Limited Consumer Understanding of Short-Term
Plans and Need for Continued State and NAIC Action
The Roles Of Assisters And Automated Decision Support Tools In Consumers’ Marketplace Choices: Room For Improvement
