For Customer Experience Professionals

CDHP Member Engagement Slips — Again

Health Plans Can't Count On Plan Design To Drive Healthcare Consumerism

by Elizabeth Boehm, August 26, 2009

Consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) continue to experience rapid growth in adoption. But member engagement has declined for the second consecutive year. CDHP members are now less likely to use online health tools and actively manage their healthcare . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The Forrester Wave™: CDHP Platforms, Q2 2009

Several New Leaders Emerge In A Rapidly Maturing Market

by Carlton A. Doty, May 29, 2009

In Forrester's 60-criteria evaluation of consumer-directed health plan (CDHP) platform vendors, we found a tight group of four Leaders with proven ability to serve multiple stakeholders well and to deliver a subscriber experience that stands out from . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Individual Purchasers Of Health Insurance Want Control

The Demographic Profiles And Attitudes Of US Individual Purchasers Of Health

by Carlton A. Doty, Elizabeth Davis, January 28, 2009

Who's purchasing individual insurance? And why? To answer these and other questions, we looked at Forrester's North American Technographics® Healthcare Online Survey, Q2 2008. We found that healthcare, and the purchasing of insurance specifically, . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The Next Wave Of Individual Purchasers: The (Recently) Uninsured

by Carlton A. Doty, Elizabeth Davis, January 28, 2009

What does the average uninsured person in the US look like? Are there differences among this population? Is there a real market opportunity for healthcare eBusiness managers hoping to gain individual memberships? We see many differences when we compare . . .

For Marketing Leadership Professionals

Consumers Sound Off On Health Savings Accounts

Unrest Is Looming Behind A Deceptively Positive Attitude Among HSA Owners

by Carlton A. Doty, January 21, 2009

The so-called consumer-directed health (CDH) market has opened a new door for financial services firms. Health savings accounts (HSAs) are the controversial but quickly growing financial "half" of many CDH insurance plans across the US. Forrester estimates . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Canopy Financial Acquires CareGain

Consolidation Continues In A Highly Competitive Market

by Carlton A. Doty, October 22, 2008

Canopy Financial, a technology solutions provider in the consumer-directed health plan (CDHP) market, announced on October 15, 2008, that it had acquired CareGain — a key competitor — from Fiserv. This transaction closes the healthcare chapter for Fiserv, . . .

For Marketing Leadership Professionals

The Truth About Consumer-Directed Health Plans

HSAs Swell To More Than 6 Million Accounts And More Than $8 Billion In Assets

by Carlton A. Doty, September 25, 2008

The so-called consumer-directed health (CDH) market plunges its roots deeper into the health insurance industry as US employers continue to fight the rising costs of healthcare and more consumers find themselves in unfamiliar territory. Once referred . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Privacy Concerns Hinder Health Plan Web Site Growth

Consumer-Directed Health Plan Members Struggle The Most With Privacy

by Julie Snyder, February 21, 2008

Health plan Web sites are being pushed to be efficient transactors — sites that can manage administrative healthcare transactions and offer the tools needed in a growing consumer-driven health marketplace. But for health plan sites to be successful in . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

The Forrester Wave™: Healthcare Claims Platforms, Q1 2008

TriZetto And DST Health Solutions Lead In A Highly Consolidated Market

by Carlton A. Doty, January 17, 2008

Following significant consolidation in the healthcare claims platform space over the past two years, Forrester evaluated eight products among the remaining four leading vendors across 61 criteria. TriZetto and DST Health Solutions are Leaders, thanks . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Are Employer-Sponsored Health Benefits Eroding?

A Joint Forrester And Employee Benefit News Study Shows That Benefits Richness Declines As HSAs Gain Steam

by Carlton A. Doty, December 27, 2007

The 2007 Employee Benefit News/Forrester Research Benefits Decisions' Impact Study of more than 900 benefits professionals examines employers' overall benefits strategies. One of the top concerns among benefits managers is healthcare. Although health . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How Employers Measure Disease Management

Benefits Managers Want Access To More Specific Disease Management Metrics

by Elizabeth Boehm, December 21, 2007

Chronic conditions like asthma, diabetes, and heart disease are eating up a growing share of US health expenditures. As a result, employers are boosting their investments in structured disease management (DM) programs to help employees with these conditions . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Employers Expand Key Healthcare Products

A Joint Study With Employee Benefit News Reveals A Focus On High-Deductible Plans And Wellness Initiatives

by Julie Snyder, November 30, 2007

The 2007 Employee Benefit News (EBN)/Forrester Research Benefits Decisions' Impact Study of more than 900 benefits professionals examines the current and planned benefits landscape together with strategies employers are implementing to control rocketing . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

CDHP Product Managers: Re-Examine Your Platform Options

Express Scripts' Acquisition Of ConnectYourCare Ensures Long-Term Viability

by Carlton A. Doty, November 15, 2007

On October 11, 2007, Express Scripts, Inc. (ESI) — one of the largest pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) in the US — announced its acquisition of ConnectYourCare (CYC). Although we ranked CYC as a Leader in the 2006 Forrester Wave™ evaluation of . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Low Awareness Means Missed Opportunities For High-Deductible Health Plans

Cost Concerns And Complicated Information Confuse Consumers

by Julie Snyder, November 5, 2007

Employers and insurers believe that consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) can reduce rocketing costs by giving consumers more control over their healthcare dollars. To build a solid CDHP member base, consumers must be engaged, knowledgeable about healthcare . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Benchmark 2007: Measuring Healthcare's Online Saturation

All Consumers Go Online For Research

by Julie Snyder, October 29, 2007

Health plans and vendors are increasing the range of products and services available through their online channel: provider tools that help consumers research and select the best hospital or physician, wellness and disease management initiatives, and . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The $115 Billion Individual Health Insurance Opportunity

A Market That Is Ripe For The Picking

by Carlton A. Doty, October 5, 2007

The individual health insurance market is slowly but steadily growing, driven by the gradual erosion of employer-sponsored coverage, the rising population of uninsured, and a government that continues its efforts to expand coverage to all citizens. To . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Will Health Search Engines Usurp Traditional Health Portals?

No, But Engines Can Provide Valuable Content To Plan eBusiness Executives

by Julie Snyder, September 19, 2007

Health search engine portals, sites powered by vertical engines returning only health-specific content, attempt to deliver relevant content in a world where an online search can spit back thousands of results with varying degrees of relevance to consumers. . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Why Health Plan Consumer Portals Need A Makeover

A Call For eBusiness Professionals To Respond To Industry Transformation

by Carlton A. Doty, September 12, 2007

The needs of online healthcare consumers are evolving, and many of the tools that plans make available to them aren't keeping up. The good news is that consumer-directed health plan (CDHP) members are more engaged and visit plan-specific Web sites more . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Health Savings Accounts: The Battleground For Customer Loyalty

by Carlton A. Doty, July 31, 2007

Market penetration for health savings accounts (HSAs) among US households is gaining momentum. Even an impending presidential election, in which healthcare reform is a top priority, cannot break the law of inertia in this highly politicized industry. . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How To Sell Healthcare Consumerism

And Overcome The Perceptions That Hold Back CDHPs

by Julie Snyder, May 3, 2007

Employers and health plans pushing healthcare consumerism expect that involving individual consumers in healthcare decisions will result in healthier members and reduced costs. But consumer-driven products, including high-deductible health plans and health . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Healthcare: The New Retail Frontier

CVS's Acquisition Of Caremark Represents An Industry Transformation

by Carlton A. Doty, April 12, 2007

On the surface, the recent acquisition of pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) Caremark by CVS/pharmacy may seem a bit superficial. However, Forrester believes that this event is representative of something bigger — the tip of a metamorphosing healthcare industry . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Blue Healthcare Bank Puts The Blues In The Game

Approval From Feds Levels The Playing Field In The CDHP Market

by Carlton A. Doty, February 23, 2007

Fourteen months after it announced plans to get into the banking business, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) has received federal approval of its application for a federal savings bank charter. The approved charter allows Blue Healthcare . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Will Plans Abandon $1.4B In Annual CDHP Profits?

Health Plans' Service Issues Will Cause Market Deceleration If Ignored

by Carlton A. Doty, February 12, 2007

Recent evidence shows that consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) are beginning to gain market share faster than Forrester predicted in 2003. However, enrollees in these plans will demand improved customer service and online capabilities that help them . . .

The TriZetto Group Uses Facets Components To Support Its CDHP Platform

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q3 2006

by Katy Henrickson, September 8, 2006

TriZetto provides software and services to healthcare firms. Its fund management module is an add-on component to its Facets claims platform, making it only suited to health plans that are currently running or that plan to implement Facets. TriZetto leverages . . .

QCSI Brings Strong Web Features To Its CDHP Platform

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q3 2006

by Katy Henrickson, September 8, 2006

Claims platform vendor QCSI expanded its consumer-directed healthcare (CDH) capabilities with the 2005 purchase of MyHealthBank, which now complements its QNXT claims platform product. The MyHealthBank application offers health plans leading online account . . .