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Lowering your members’ individual costs might seem like a “nice-to-have” goal, but in reality, it should be one of your top goals. Health plans often do a great job in operations and know how to keep their members happy with the coverage and benefits they offer. However, members are also consumers and have expectations regarding service items, such as helping them navigate their care. Especially when it’s care where they’ll have an out-of-pocket expense. Even though it’s an out-of-pocket expense, members are still going to look to you, their health plan, to help lower those costs. If you value member satisfaction, retention, and growth, lowering member costs should be a priority.

Higher member satisfaction.

Lowering member costs to keep members satisfied doesn’t always mean lowering their co-pays or premiums. There are other effective ways to work toward achieving this goal. Today’s consumers crave convenience and are not satisfied when there is a lack of guidance in navigating information and choices. In fact, multiple studies have shown that members desire and prefer using navigation and digital tools. Offering members resources and digital tools to access information increases productivity and efficiency, saving time and money for the organization. In turn, organizations can pass their savings along to members, which lowers their out-of-pocket costs. Try providing your members with access to a resource to help them shop and navigate their healthcare. Our Smart Healthcare Platform is a great option that can guide your members through their healthcare choices and lead them to savings.  

Improved member retention.

A happy member is a retained member. For employers, it’s especially important to maintain or improve retention since the cost of replacing an employee can range from 50% to 400% of their annual salary. Consumers aren’t afraid to move on to better options. When an individual hears that another organization can offer them higher standard services, they will be intrigued. In fact, it is said that 49% of employees annually will look for a new job due to confusion or dissatisfaction with benefits. The majority of this dissatisfaction comes from out-of-pocket expenses due to lack of clarity of resources. 

Final thoughts.

Keeping members’ costs low can be a big determinant of if they will stay with you or decide to go elsewhere. Remember that your members are all individual consumers who want access to quality, affordable care. If you’re not offering that care, they’ll find a health plan that does. Lowering your members’ healthcare costs will be well worth it when you see increased member satisfaction and better retention.