Overview
Our new MA Benefit Design Conjoint Study by Health Segment shows how consumers decide when choosing MA coverage. It also measures how those decisions differ across the health and utilization profiles Deft identified in 2026. The report publishes in January 2027, in time to inform 2028 bid development.
Benefit design is a balancing act. Carriers need to build plans that appeal to members while making thoughtful choices about where to invest limited benefit dollars. The MA Benefit Design Conjoint Study by Health Segment reveals how preferences and tradeoffs differ based on members’ health needs, helping carriers identify which benefits to prioritize and evaluate benefit designs for the member populations they want to serve.
What's Inside the Study
- Conjoint analysis of tradeoffs among 10 to 12 key MA benefits, including premium, medical deductibles, MOOP, Rx deductibles, specialist copays, and prescription drug costs.
- Market-level insight into how health needs shape consumer decisions, how benefit changes affect enrollment, and how markets are likely to keep shifting. It also shows what those shifts mean for carrier competitiveness.
- A one-year subscription to an online benefit design simulator. Model a virtually unlimited number of plan designs and see how consumers are likely to respond well before the bid.
- Case studies and consultation* using CMS PBP and enrollment data. They show how three benefit changes have affected carriers’ market share in later plan years: dropping or reducing PPOs in favor of HMOs, moving off $0 premiums, and adding medical deductibles. Use them to weigh similar moves with the least disruption to current members.
*Available as an Add-on purchase
