The Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH) recently released an
issue brief identifying the top 5 rules for consumer decision support that health insurance exchanges should consider as they prepare for open enrollment. The list includes strategies that PBGH's research indicates will have a large impact on consumers’ plan choice experiences on State Based Exchange (SBE) web portals. The top 5 rules highlighted in the brief address how to:
- present cost information;
- organize plans;
- improve the user experience by employing short cuts;
- focus on the issues that matter most to consumers; and
- use a consolidated provider directory to allow for easy searching of whether a preferred provider participates in a plan.
Importantly, this brief also outlines strategies to bridge the gaps where preferred approaches cannot be implemented when open enrollment begins on October 2013. As such, the brief focuses on practical solutions to help SBEs that face constraints in putting the “ideal” consumer choice solution in place now. Additional briefs covering various plan choice topics can also be found
here.
