Health plan members are faced with crucial decisions during open enrollment, and plan providers are tasked with guiding members through the process — whether they’re first-time enrollers, making updates to their existing plan or moving to a new provider.
But plan providers should seek opportunities to continue engaging with their members beyond enrollment. And it starts with a personalized and well-organized welcome kit.
When a member can easily access the information they need — like their plan, benefits and services — they’re left with fewer questions and a better impression of their plan provider.
Here are the top 7 ways a dynamic, custom welcome kit can help you maintain and grow your membership rates, improve engagement and keep your members satisfied.
1. Mitigate Disenrollment Rates by Building Loyalty
Member retention can fluctuate due to several factors, including age and changes in living circumstances. So, when a member feels ignored or mistreated by a plan, it can increase the likelihood they’ll begin shopping around.
A study by the Commonwealth Fund revealed that in 2021, 17% of enrollees voluntarily disenrolled from a Medicare Advantage plan, a 70% increase from 2017 when the most common reasons for members to disenroll were chronic conditions and low-income.
According to Havard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, survey results showed that 71% of respondents and/or their dependents had been enrolled in Medicaid in 2020. By fall 2023, 12.5% reported they had been disenrolled by fall 2023, and of those disenrolled members, 52% found another form of insurance, while 48% reported being uninsured.
Sending a well-designed and thorough welcome kit with personalized information gives members what they need to navigate their healthcare journey with confidence, initiating positive engagement from day one.
2. Create Positive Experiences From the Start
Picture a member receiving your welcome kit. What impression do you want to create?
The welcome kit is the first point of contact after enrollment. When done right, it helps members understand what’s expected of them while building trust in your offerings.
Members are more likely to engage when their early interactions are tailored to their needs, leading to improved retention rates.
3. Build Trust Using the Right Information
People like options when it comes to their individual health plan but may find themselves choosing ones that may not be suited to their unique profile. This is where you, as a trusted provider, can step in and guide members towards better choices, and it starts with a welcome kit.
Be sure to include only the essentials to reduce confusion, such as regulated materials, personalized data and tailored resources:
• Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC). A government mandated document that serves as a confirmation of coverage and benefits. It must be written using plain language best practices and include two common coverage examples (e.g., diabetes and childbirth), so members know what to expect from their plans.• Clear instructions. Locating information like login details, claims and forms, and urgent care and emergency details should be clearly outlined and easy to follow. This can help reduce member frustration and calls to your support center.• Prescription coverage (if applicable). You must provide members with personalized information regarding their pharmacy benefits and a preferred drug list that outlines generic vs. name-brand drugs, affordable long-term prescription delivery options, and information about drugs with special permissions.• Relevant tools and resources. Educational content, such as information about managing diabetes or available wellness and fitness programs, can enhance member onboarding experience. Providing access can also add value if your resource library is available in a mixed media format, such as interactive video.
4. Create Distinct Member Experiences With an Enhanced Omnichannel Strategy
An omnichannel approach ensures you deliver information according to a customer’s preferences. For example, a member might prefer to receive a digital welcome kit by email, with their ID card delivered separately by mail.
Having information available in the member's preferred channels, with consistent messaging and personalization across all formats, from paper to digital, ensures a proactive communications strategy that addresses the member’s needs and increases member satisfaction. And when members are happy, there’s a greater chance they’ll refer their plan provider to family members and friends in the future.
5. Improve Patient Outcomes Through Education
Using customer communications management tools, plan providers can strategically build their welcome kits around their members by including educational resources relevant to their healthcare journey.
When equipped with information about how to take care of themselves, members can better manage their symptoms, leading to better patient outcomes down the road. Conversely, members have the resources to discern the right time to seek help and avoid behaviors that can worsen their state.
6. Focus on Preventive Care
Preventive care empowers members to be proactive about their health. It leads to better health outcomes by reducing the risk and detecting early signs of life-threatening conditions.
The government mandates that plan providers offer plans designed around preventive care, delivered by a doctor or provider, and involves immunizations and healthcare screening and management, such as:
• Vaccinations to protect against serious illness (flu, mumps, measles, chickenpox, etc.)• Depression screening• Tobacco use screening• Cholesterol screening• Blood pressure screening• Diet counseling• Falls prevention
A personalized welcome kit informs members about the preventive care they need and how to obtain it, which can help to lower healthcare costs.
7. Get Feedback to Improve the Member Experience
Welcome kits are an excellent tool for understanding your members and staying ahead of the competition. By incorporating a customer communications management solution, you’re creating a channel for feedback, leading to valuable data like member concerns and industry trends.
Tap into analytics such as:
• Common inquiries shared with customer support. What are members calling in about? Notice any themes or patterns? For example, if you’re getting several calls about login issues, the instructions in your welcome kit may need to be rewritten for clarity.• Member behavior insights. If any of your members request a digital welcome kit, you may be able to extract data related to email open rates, click-through rates, and which resources your members are choosing to download.• Competitive analysis: Keeping your finger on the pulse of industry trends and what your competitors are doing can inform how you design your welcome kit, and which areas can be improved.
Though sometimes challenging, receiving feedback can present indispensable learnings about the effectiveness of your materials.
Create a Welcome Kit That Makes Members Feel Welcome!
Member loyalty isn’t earned through enrollment alone. A well-designed welcome kit can make the member experience feel much more personal. It's an essential investment that can pay off in the long run, setting the stage for a lasting relationship.
Jason Pothen is Senior Vice President of Sales at Doxim. Connect with him on LinkedIn.
