As Consumers Feel Financial Burden of Increasing Health Care Costs, Health Plans...

As Consumers Feel Financial Burden of Increasing Health Care Costs, Health
Plans Have Opportunity to Address Unmet Consumer Needs and Become Trusted
Advisors

SAN FRANCISCO, June 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- According to a recent survey
from the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, a part of Deloitte LLP, only 7
percent of Americans are financially prepared for their future health care
needs. At the same time, only 10 percent of consumers are completely satisfied
with their health plans. As non-traditional players enter the health care
arena and begin to respond to consumers' demand for increased access to online
tools, information and services, health plans must act quickly to improve
relationships with consumers and address their unmet needs to strengthen their
role as trusted advisors.

"Health care costs have now approached one-fifth of the average household's
spending, outpacing housing, food, clothing and transportation," said Paul
Keckley, Ph.D., executive director of the Deloitte Center for Health
Solutions. "As consumers assume more personal responsibility for covering
their health care costs, and gain increased awareness of treatment options,
quality and price differences, they will want to take even greater control of
their health care decisions."

The 2008 Survey of Health Care Consumers, a representative survey of more than
3,000 Americans, was conducted by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions.
The survey suggests that there are distinct consumer segments with diverse
needs and preferences. Across these segments, there are unmet needs that
present opportunities for health plans to fill the void. To capitalize on this
opportunity, however, health plans need to consider new strategies,
capabilities and investments.

"Health plans have a tremendous opportunity to become the trusted source for
personalized, integrated information about health conditions, treatment
options, quality, and price," said Diane Davies, managing principal for
Deloitte Consulting LLP's Health Plans practice. "They should consider
promoting transparency as a core feature of benefit plans and build the
necessary infrastructure to provide the information consumers need in a
timely, easy-to-use and personalized format. Health plans that recognize and
respond to consumers' evolving preferences, unmet needs and overall desires
for greater personalization and customization in their benefit plans could
gain a distinct competitive advantage and achieve profitable growth in an
emerging retail market."

The survey found that many consumers are seeking more personalized options and
are demanding greater choices for care. The majority of consumers (78
percent) would prefer to customize their insurance by selecting the benefits
and features they value, rather than select their plans from a few
pre-packaged options. If given a choice, 62 percent of consumers said the
ability to customize and choose benefits would have a strong influence on
their choice of a health plan.

Additional representative findings from the Deloitte Survey found that:

-- Nearly three out of four consumers (73 percent) are interested in
accessing information about quality or price from their health plan.
-- Consumer interest in services such as online access to medical records
and test results (78 percent), email communication with doctors (76
percent), and online scheduling (72 percent) is very high.
-- Consumers are also interested in wellness programs (65 percent), tools
that provide personalized recommendations for improving health (61
percent), nurse call lines (65 percent) and disease management
programs
that can help them manage their health condition (56 percent).
-- Eighty-eight percent are interested in using in-home self-monitoring
devices that could reduce doctor visits.
-- Forty-six percent are interested in using a software program or web
site
to create a personal health record.
-- Twenty percent have used an alternative approach to treatment (40
percent might in the future).
-- While 68 percent prefer to choose doctors with an orientation toward
traditional or conventional medicine, 32 percent prefer to choose
doctors with an orientation toward holistic or alternative treatments
(7
percent strongly prefer).
-- If given a choice, 47 percent said access to alternative health care
providers would have a strong influence on their choice of a health
plan.
-- Sixteen percent have used a retail clinic (34 percent say they might
in
the future).
-- Forty-four percent say they would be comfortable with the accuracy,
safety and quality of care offered in a retail clinic staffed by a
nurse
practitioner.
-- Thirty-nine percent say they would consider having an elective
procedure
in a foreign country if they could save 50 percent or more and be
assured the quality was equal to or better than in the United States.

Related Content
Survey: http://www.deloitte.com/us/healthcareconsumersurvey
Health Plans Implications Report:
http://www.deloitte.com/us/healthcareconsumersurvey/healthplan
Media Resource Center: http://www.deloitte.com/us/consumerism/media
Fact Sheet Library: http://www.deloitte.com/us/consumerism/library
Perspective:
http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/article/0,1002,sid%253D127087%2526cid%253D192739,00.html
Connected Care Report: http://www.deloitte.com/us/ConnectedCareAtHome

About Deloitte
As used in this document, "Deloitte" means Deloitte LLP and its subsidies.
Please see www.deloitte.com/about for a detailed description of the legal
structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries.
About the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions
The Deloitte Center for Health Solutions is a part of Deloitte LLP. For more
on the Center and its work, see www.deloitte.com/centerforhealthsolutions

SOURCE Deloitte

Marykate Reese, Public Relations, of Deloitte, +1-203-257-0452,
mareese@deloitte.com