Most Americans don't trust health plans to provide accurate care options
When people have negative experiences finding care or are matched with the wrong provider, they're more likely to opt out of the healthcare system.
Photo: Jose Luis Pelaez Inc./Getty Images
More than half of Americans, 62%, don't trust their health plan when searching for care, according to a new consumer survey report conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Ribbon Health.
When it comes to patient dissatisfaction, the survey found one major pain point lies in care navigation; the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services has found more than half of provider listings have at least one inaccuracy, leaving people with incomplete information and burdening their access to high-quality care.
Ribbon's research found that more than one-third (38%) of people have had a negative healthcare experience due to incorrect provider information on their health plan's website.
When people have negative experiences finding care or are matched with the wrong provider, they're more likely to opt out of the healthcare system. This puts them at risk for worsening health and more costly care down the road, and increases future expenses for health plans.
WHAT'S THE IMPACT
The study reveals that the most important factor in creating a positive healthcare experience is having a personalized health plan, as reported by 53% of respondents. Americans also value receiving care from doctors with good bedside manner (48%), feeling better quickly (38%), securing an appointment quickly (33%) and out-of-pocket cost (31%).
When it comes to searching for the right provider, almost half of respondents (49%) identified a provider's level of experience treating their specific healthcare needs as the most important factor. The other top factors were convenient location (42%) and cost (40%).
Based on the research, members need to see a few key changes to build trust with their health plan. A majority of respondents (66%) shared that they would have increased trust in their health plan with more accurate information on providers, meaning that people expect a centralized, accurate and detailed source of truth and view this as a major factor in improving the quality of their experience.
Beyond accuracy, health plan directories often lack critical information on providers like cost and quality of care. Americans are increasingly searching for more inclusive and innovative health offerings, and 61% view provider information like demographics, quality ratings and cost of care as "somewhat" or "very" important.
With only 28% of respondents reporting that they are likely to use their plan's website to search for a provider, health plans have an opportunity to implement technology and infrastructure behind the scenes that will create a seamless member experience on the front end, the survey found.
THE LARGER TREND
With 30% of provider data churning every year, provider data management is not an easy problem to solve.
Survey authors said health plans must get ahead of member concerns to ensure retention and better understand what provider information is important to them, what factors will lead to increased trust in the system, and what data they view as key to driving personalized and inclusive care.
Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: Jeff.Lagasse@himssmedia.com
