Would Americans really be fine with selecting their health-care coverage online at Amazon.com, or not via a Google search, but from Google? A new study claims this to be the case for many.
"This new research paints a clear picture of a population displeased with its overall health-care experience, with growing expectations for transparency, value, and customer service from the organizations that finance and deliver care," said Strategy&, formerly Booze & Company, now part of the PricewaterhouseCoopers network, in a release containing the highlights of results drawn from 2,000 respondents.
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In fact, Strategy& said folks are so upset that "consumers were almost as likely to trust a large retailer or digitally enabled company such as Google or Amazon for health services as they were to trust an insurance company."
Or how about a large consulting firm?
Interestingly, private exchanges surfaced as one of the products/services that these respondents viewed favorably. PwC offers certain products that are designed to help consumers navigate through the world of private exchanges. While PwC survey from September found that private exchanges were slowly gaining traction, the Strategy& results were far more bullish.
"Exchanges are gaining traction faster than expected, and consumers are highly loyal to the first insurance plan they purchase. More than half of consumers say they're highly satisfied with the experience of buying on health-care exchanges—only 22 percent are not. Seventy-three percent of consumers who purchased insurance on a private exchange say they're highly likely to stay with the same insurer next year, and 57 percent of those who purchased on a public exchange say the same," Strategy& said.
Generally, the survey found that people were "unsatisfied on the whole" with their health-care experience. "Fully 66 percent reported satisfaction with their core benefits, and a further 63 percent said they were satisfied with what they were paying, but only 49 percent were satisfied with their overall consumer experience," the report said.
Digital health apps were supported by this group—in theory if not in practice.
"A full 80 percent say they would engage with digital services that help manage their health care, but only 23 percent are currently doing that. More than a quarter of respondents listed digital means, as opposed to office visits or phone consultations, as their preferred method of engagement with a health-care provider," the study said.
It also looked at results by age group, and found the expected differences.
Younger consumers (35 years old and younger) were much more likely to prefer obtaining coverage via a virtual insurance exchange than were older respondents. It also found younger folks wanted a good value when buying health care and were pickier about their choices, but would go to a lower ranked hospital for care if it looked modern and clean.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
