Kyle Janssen, Senior Research Associate –
2025 marks an important year for us at Deft Research. This year we are celebrating our 20th anniversary of providing top-of-the-line consumer insights to assist senior and commercial market leaders with decision-making. Starting out with publishing only two studies in 2006, this year Deft will be publishing 16 national studies along with dozens of custom research studies and now a total of five data tool offerings. Deft has been following the evolution of U.S. health insurance and supplying the industry with the “ins and outs” of what it means to be a consumer.
What did the beginning of Deft look like? What did the insurance space look like?
In 2005, Richard Hamer, Dan Freier, and Randy Herman founded Deft Research with the goal of understanding the shopping habits of Medicare members. With the newly created Medicare Part D program, they saw an opportunity to be a resource to carriers not only for what this change meant for their business, but also for consumers themselves. Deft’s first endeavor was the 2006 National Market Dynamics Study, with the purpose to understand market processes and competition among MAPD and PDP players. The other study that published that year, the National Senior Loyalty Study, tested customer loyalty, the intention of the customer to switch coverage, and perceived market differentiation. The legacy of our first two studies continues to this day with our annual Medicare Shopping and Switching Study and the Medicare Member Experience Study.
Where are we now?
In 2021, Deft joined the Integrity family, the leading distributor in health insurance products. Since then, Deft has continued to expand our expertise in health insurance along with greater insights into the agent-customer relationship. This partnership allows Deft to gain a better understanding of the health insurance consumer and amplify their needs and preferences.
As Medicare enrollment grew throughout Deft’s existence, we have also needed to grow our services. For instance, Medicare Advantage enrollment has grown nearly four times from 9.6 million to nearly 34.5 million members today1. With this growth, it is paramount for carriers to know how consumers utilize their insurance and what needs they have. As the market has grown, our Senior Market Insights Services has followed suit to include studies that cover shopping behavior, member experiences, and technology usage, and expanded our study subjects to include more niche populations like Duals and Age-Ins.
Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, Deft has also provided syndicated research for the under 65 (IFP and Commercial Group) markets. As the IFP market has grown by over 18 million members since the opening of the exchange marketplaces in 20142, Deft’s Commercial Market Insight Services has provided in-depth looks at shopping and switching, member experiences, benefit preference, and more for these insurance types.
Outside of syndicated research, Deft also provides opportunities for custom quantitative and qualitative research to gain a closer look into clients’ specific needs. Deft can help identify key drivers in CAHPS scores with our CAHPS diagnostic studies; test consumer preferences of benefits and plans through Conjoint and MaxDiff studies; and much more. Whether it be a certain service area, national in scope, or even an own-member population, our services allow carriers to gain a deeper understanding of their current and prospective population of consumers.
Data tools are also available at Deft Research, specifically with our MA Growth Tracker, MAPD + PDP Disruption Tool, Medicare Market Assessment, Age-In Market Assessment, and SNP Market Assessment. This suite of data tools helps make it easier to understand key facets of the Medicare market to enhance organizational efficiency and inform strategic decision-making.
Looking to the future
As we celebrate our 20th year, we are excited about what is to come in the next 20 years. In 2025, we are releasing two new studies: the Medicare Member Onboarding Study and the OEP Gut Check Study. These studies will help clients better understand how to create long-lasting relationships with their Medicare members and gain insights into how ACA members are feeling halfway through their 2025 coverage. Beyond 2025, we will continue to grow and evolve to provide our clients with deep insight into insurance consumers’ experiences. If you want to learn more about Deft Research’s tools and services, please send us an email at info@deftresearch.com.
Sources
1Deft Research MA Growth Tracker.
22025 Individual and Family Plan Shopping and Switching Study.