Which Health Plans Take the Lead in Member Digital Experience?

Cigna Healthcare leads in member satisfaction with digital experience among commercial health plans, while UPMC Health Plan ranks highest among Medicare Advantage plans, according to a new report.

The J.D. Power U.S. Healthcare Digital Experience Study tracks satisfaction across five factors in order of importance: visual appeal, navigation, information/content, speed and telehealth. It’s based on responses from 6,259 members across 15 of the largest Medicare Advantage plans and 15 of the largest commercial health plans.

For commercial plans, Cigna Healthcare achieved a score of 683 on a 1,000-point scale, followed by Kaiser Foundation Health Plan (680) and Centene (664). CareFirst came in last with a score of 620 points.

Among Medicare Advantage plans, UPMC Health Plan had a score of 687 points, while UnitedHealthcare came in second with 650 and Cigna Healthcare came in third with 644. Highmark ranked last with 603 points.

However, the report also found that health plans are falling behind when it comes to digital experiences compared to other industries. Customer satisfaction with apps is 653 points out of 1,000 on average for commercial plans and 597 for Medicare Advantage plans, versus 794 points for full-service wealth management companies, 700 points for property and casualty insurers and 672 points for automotive finance companies.

In addition, digital experience affects how members view their health plans. Of plans with satisfaction scores of 801 points or above, 58% of commercial plan members are more likely to view their employer positively, and 85% of Medicare Advantage members say they’ll definitely renew — more than twice the loyalty seen with low-scoring experiences (500 or below).

The factor that has the biggest impact on digital satisfaction with commercial health plans and Medicare Advantage plans is the “ease of finding information needed.” When that need is met, overall member satisfaction increases by 83 points, but health plans fail to provide that 39% of the time, according to the report.

J.D. Power also found that overall satisfaction is highest among those who use the health plan’s mobile app (636 points) versus a website (607 points) or phone (607 points).

“So many daily interactions with service providers are successfully managed digitally, resulting in continually higher customer expectations for a world-class digital experience,” said Eric McCready, director of digital solutions at J.D. Power, in a statement. “However, health insurance providers have a lot of work to do to close the gap to other industries. The most important factors driving member satisfaction with mobile apps and websites include making it easy to find the information they need; providing clear explanations of deductibles and out-of-pocket spending; and offering intuitive navigational elements. Many plans are simply not delivering on those basics.”

Thai Noipho, Getty Images