The situation is dire: 15 million Medicaid members could lose coverage due to Medicaid unwinding, and hospitals potentially face a wave of newly uninsured patients.

The COVID-19 public health emergency raised total Medicaid and CHIP enrollment by 20.6 million. Congress recently decoupled this provision, requiring states to resume regular redeterminations as of April 1. State agencies and health insurers are now scrambling, and the stakes are high.

The Role Of Failed Member Engagement

Redeterminations highlight a key challenge in our healthcare system — effectively reaching members where they are and getting them the information they need. Forrester data paints a clear image of the problem with member engagement: 41% of consumers wish that their insurer would do more to help them understand their benefits, and 31% indicate that their insurer’s website is hard to navigate. What’s clear is that there is work to be done. Digital teams need to develop tools and strategies to help members navigate their health insurance, find the coverage they need, and make the most of their benefits.

Up The Ante On Member Engagement

In a few months, we will be kicking off new research on member engagement platforms, but first, we wanted to share a few tips that health insurers should keep in mind for member engagement success:

  • Engagement is continuous, not just an enrollment event. Engagement throughout the member lifecycle is important, not just at the point of open enrollment. In fact, only focusing on engagement during enrollment sets payers up for failure. Why? A lack of member data and incomplete member profiles leaves insurers without an understanding of how they need to reach their members and through which channels.
  • Physical channels can push members to engage digitally. Print still matters. Utilizing physical channels to meet members where they are and to nudge them to engage digitally can have several benefits, including more accurate member data collection. Consider mailing a Medicaid member a printed pamphlet about the upcoming redetermination with a QR code that they can scan to start the process.
  • Think outside traditional touchpoints to meet members where they are. Embedding critical information in a member’s day-to-day routine can eliminate friction from the member journey and improve engagement. Understand these routines and strategically deliver information in these settings. Accessibility of relevant information is key.

Stay tuned for our research on member engagement. In the meantime, if you are a subject matter expert in member engagement, send us an email — we would love to chat!