Overview
When building health insurance for digital exchanges, carriers must also ensure that coverage, service, and healthcare focus on digital delivery. This study examines all aspects of digital healthcare, including online shopping (public and private exchanges), portal management, e-brokers, virtual care, and virtual-first plans.
The Promise of Digital Health Tracking
As many as a quarter of ACA members with a paid subscription to health tracking apps (e.g., Garmin Connect, FitBit, or Apple Watch) would be very or extremely likely to move to a virtual-first structure (see chart). Partnering with health app makers is straight out of the pre-COVID playbook but may have been ahead of its time. Now that more consumers are accepting of the idea of digital care delivery, digital health tracking could be ready to take off.
Prepare for Future Impact
The cost-saving feature of virtual-first is about to experience a demographic boost, but it may be years before it bends the cost curve in healthcare. Until then, carriers need to be proactive in finding members willing to switch now — and perfecting their approach — before a second wave of demand hits.