You may have seen the recent article from Health Insurance Daily “International PMI – latest developments in technologyâ€, in which I provided some insight into the accessibility of mobile technology in the International PMI (IPMI) market.
This urged me to think further on how the international PMI sector can harness mobile technology to not only improve their member experience, but also help them to collect more data about health and claiming patterns, not to mention lowering costs. Here are some of my thoughts:
The current state of play for the international PMI sector
Globally, the medical insurance sector lags behind banking and personal lines insurance in terms of its mobile application development. There are however, pockets and markets where HIT (Health Information Technology) and Mobile Health is widely adopted, the most significant being the United States, followed by the UK. The majority of mobile smartphone applications available for UK outbound expatriates are limited to basic functionality at present; i.e. submitting a medical claim form, finding a medical facility and logging an appointment.
Insurers including Aetna International, BUPA International and CIGNA Global Health Benefits have mobile applications for smartphones, but they are just beginning to harness their true potential, arguably at this stage they are trying to understand the market perception, and uptake before releasing further application with greater functionality.
Improving the member experience?
Some technology focussed IPMI providers are offering scalable SMS technology in lieu of full smartphone applications. For instance, Now Health International a relatively new entrant in global medical insurance are focussed on the immediacy of service, and use SMS to inform members when claims are received and processed. Such automation, arguably improves the member’s experience, and makes it more accessible for those who don’t possess smartphones or are in remote locations without Mobile Internet. Making clinicians more accessible should be on the development agenda of all international medical insurers, and will arguably improve member engagement, reduce retrospective claim pre-authorisations and claim shortfalls whilst making the identification of potential medical issues easier.
Some insurers are working on full mobile technology, such as e-membership cards which could see the end of a full physical membership card, but the main consideration here is that the technology is only as good as the treating facility, so the full adoption of this technology is likely to be some way off in the international market.
Health and claiming patterns
The proliferation of technology within IPMI needs to be a collaborative development for it to make a significant impact, that is insurers, healthcare providers, consultants and employers need to adopt common platforms (Healthcare Provider>Insurer) and Consultants and Employers must implement the member education piece for this to have an impact on claiming patterns.
To date, the prevalence of apps with Global Healthcare Provider directories ‘steers’ members to those facilities which have contracted arrangements in place with their selected insurer, by doing so the insurer is likely to have a negotiated discount on treatment costs. This, if adopted widely by employees has the potential to have a net effect on the claims spend of a particular insurer, but whether it’s ultimately recognised in a company’s group renewal premium is as yet, difficult to measure.
What is the effect on costs?
The US Healthcare industry has been a pioneer here, for instance the MYCIGNA application for US domestic employees/families allows members to check prescription drug costs on the move, which undoubtedly has a net effect on their company renewal premium. Again, what this highlights is not just a cultural change for many employees, but the need for integration of pharmacies, hospitals and insurers to provide an accurate data feed. The technology infrastructure exists in the USA, in addition to the coding. ICD-10 codes are only adopted by 25 or so countries across the world (USA, Thailand, UAE amongst others), which makes for more relevant data for insurers to measure and to overlay into relevant, informative technology for members.
Mobile technology will not be relevant to a significant proportion of the expatriate medical insurance market, whose destinations are in countries that do not have adequate medical facilities, let alone the technology infrastructure to support Mobile HIT (Health Information Technology).
Employees who do not have smartphones aren’t left out of the equation. Most of the large international medical insurers have well developed, PC-Accessible member portals, which have good functionality including:
- Provider Search
- Security Information
- Benefit Schedules & ‘How to Claim guides’
- Online Claims Submission & Tracking
- Basic Online Health Risk Assessments
Of course, there is always a 24/7 member helpline, with qualified clinicians and administrative support when human interaction is required.
Data security
This is paramount when dealing with members’ medical information, and is taken seriously by treating facilities, insurers and benefit consultants alike. In the United States, such information is protected by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act -1996) and in the UK the Data Protection Act 1998 alongside broader medical information protection principles. TLS (Transport Layered Security) and SSL ensures that data which is transmitted electronically is encrypted, but of course, as with online and mobile banking the normal rules apply regarding changing of passwords and sharing information.
The power of MI – holistic benefit management
Human Resources, Reward and Mobility Professionals alike are becoming increasingly interested in scalable technology platforms that allow them to keep abreast of developments, trends and issues that are arising in the benefits provision for their employees. Working with our technology partner, we build International Employee Benefits Platforms for clients with global employee scale allowing them to have a holistic view of all their benefits offerings, participation, engagement and cost in one location. The evolution of Total Reward Statements and Flexible Benefits provision transcends the UK and European Market, and we are seeing employers with staff in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Chile consider implementing a scalable, cost efficient way of communicating and managing their employee rewards.
From an Employer perspective, this extension of TRS and Flex into other countries, does come with some complexities which we navigate with clients, but ultimately the reward far outweighs the risk. By implementing a platform E & O/Administrative errors reduce, improvements in employee engagement (they know how to engage with benefits and what they have), targeted communications to specific employees also become easier. Above all, a more efficient spend on benefits is achieved through greater transparency, with vendor reports employers can see the real impact of their benefits offering and it’s ROI.
Technology is changing the way we interact, from help with a diagnosis (iTriage a US-Based medical application which has a wealth of relevant health information) to submitting medical insurance claims, the international medical insurance market is adopting technology, but undoubtedly waiting with baited breath to see its impact on claims cost management and member interaction.
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