Health systems have learned a number of lessons during the first three health insurance exchange open enrollment periods, and an article in Hospitals & Health Networks offers a collection of tips to make future enrollment periods work for patients and providers.
Here's three of the ideas the article recommends:
- Plan ahead. Harpreet Cheema, vice president of product development at Trinity Health in Michigan, told the publication that by late 2015 the system was already planning for 2017's enrollment period. "Our payer partners file their products starting April or May each year. So, for anybody that we are working with or actively pursuing a partnership with, we must plan ahead," he said.
- Analyze data. Texas-based Christus Health uses data from Enroll America and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to craft its annual outreach plans, according to HHN. The system also uses its own internal data, so leaders know where uninsured patients are and the care they typically need.
- Learn more about the people you're trying to reach. Trinity uses focus groups to gather information on the priorities and motivations of its patients. Each has specific needs and coverage concerns. By segmenting the groups, organizations can determine the best communication strategies to convert them from being uninsured to insured, according to Cheema.
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