Product innovation: Consumerism

The challenge

Employers are increasingly unable to pay the entire bill for their employees' health coverage. Our research shows that three-quarters of large employers ask their employees to pay a greater share. Thirty-five percent offer their employees a high-deductible health plan. Twenty-five percent make these plans more attractive by offering health savings accounts (HSAs) or health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs).

The current array of consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) were rushed to market in many cases without a comprehensive, long-term strategy, and as a result health plan operations and the consumer experience have suffered. Consumers, forced to take more financial responsibility for their care, are demanding more value for their money. Plans tailored to their medical needs and their budgets. The next generation of CDHPs will need to be more strategic and more aligned with market trends. Attract consumers who can choose among many competitors. Future CDHPs will include innovations such as stacked accounts and incentive programs. Succeeding in this growth opportunity will require strategic vision, product innovation, integrated risk management and a commitment to quality, accessible care.

The accelerating evolution toward CDHPs is an opportunity for you to increase your market share and profitability. An opportunity fraught with tough challenges. You need to understand rapidly evolving compliance requirements and consumer desires and incorporate them into new products. Train your employees and educate your customers. Missteps could lead to costly product reworking, loss of tax qualification and customer dissatisfaction.

How we can help you

You need to understand consumerism from the perspective of consumers, employers and providers. We understand consumerism from the perspective of every stakeholder, including yours. We bring to each engagement proven methodologies, a collaborative spirit and experience and expertise in all aspects of each stakeholder's operations.

You need to find opportunities for new products by analyzing market trends and consumer needs and expectations. We can help you develop a well-informed strategy, design and implement consumer-directed health plans, assess risks to price the plans appropriately and monitor and evaluate plan performance.

Common services include:

• Actuarial pricing
• Product design
• Competitive analysis
• Assistance with selection and implementation of health systems, technology and financial partners
• Monitoring and evaluation of plan performance