Technology helping Americans feel more prepared for open enrollment

Technology could have something to do with it, but a record 77 percent of Americans with health benefits say they’re ready for open enrollment this year.

That’s up 5 percent from last year, according to UnitedHealthcare’s Consumer Sentiment Survey. More concerning to employers should be the 20 percent who still say they’re unprepared. Full-time workers are even more confident about open enrollment, at 82 percent, but millennials? Not so much, with just 62 percent ready to take it on.

Related: 5 ways benefits educators can ease the open enrollment process

More respondents expressed interest in using technology to help them access both information and care. In fact, 43 percent said they’d be likely to use telemedicine in the future to access care—up 6 points from 2016.

In addition, in a record for the survey, 36 percent of respondents said they’d used the internet or mobile apps to comparison shop for health care during the past year. Millennials, at 51 percent, were most likely to do so.

Comparison shopping wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, however, with 42 percent saying the estimates were confusing or not easy to understand; 26 percent saying the results lacked key quality or cost information; and 7 percent saying they were not customized for their health plan.

Hitting the web to find health care information can be frustrating for other reasons, as well. While 68 percent said they’d used an internet search engine to research a potential health issue or symptom, 29 percent of that group said doing so made them more anxious about the potential health issue. That underscores the need for people to have access to resources such as 24/7 nurse support and virtual visits.

Some actually felt better, though, with 23 percent of people who research health issues or symptoms online saying that doing so decreased their anxiety; 49 percent reported no change.

Ancillary benefits such as vision and dental care are important to 80 percent of Americans, while 85 percent of full-time workers are even more interested. Not only do 85 percent of survey respondents realize the effect of oral health on overall health, including 53 percent saying the link was “significant,” but 39 percent of respondents said the extended use of smartphones, tablets or computers had caused them to experience symptoms associated with digital eye strain, including sore or dry eyes, headache, or sore neck, shoulder or back.

And 55 percent of those enduring such eye/muscle problems said they responded by stopping or limiting their use of digital devices. In addition, 14 percent said they started using blue-light blocking technology for either their device or eyewear, although 28 percent said they made no changes.