efforts halt if patients don't opt in before their 65th birthday.
Health plans are likely forgoing millions in potential revenue by
halting marketing efforts to potential Medicare enrollees if they don't opt in
by their 65th birthday.
A survey by professional services company Accenture shows that 48% of
Americans plan to delay Medicare enrollment past the age of 65, and health
plans that fail to rethink how they market to this growing cohort will likely
miss a huge opportunity.
The survey of 2,301 consumers showed that:
·
48% of consumers intend to delay Medicare enrollment beyond the
age of 65
·
70% of those nearing Medicare age have performed at least one
health activity online
·
53% say they will shop for their Medicare plan online
With each new Medicare Advantage enrollee worth about $11,000 in
government premium reimbursement per year, improved marketing performance can
lead to hundreds of millions in revenue increases for health plans over time,
the company says. For example, for a plan that has 100,000 annual age-ins in
its service area, improving conversion rates by capturing late enrollees (those
more than 66 years of age) could mean as much as $85 million in additional
yearly revenue.
Many factors are causing people to delay entering Medicare, but an
important one is that the Social Security "full retirement age" with
maximum benefit is 66 years and two months.
According to Accenture, health plans should focus their marketing
efforts on the older-than-65 age group by:
1.
Resetting their approach to
later entrants: Rather than catering to those about to turn 65 in a traditional
linear manner, health plans should address the existence and value or later
buyers with equal vigor. Those who adapt quickly will gain a first-mover
advantage.
2.
Making "digital"
the center of engagement: New-to-Medicare consumers
are using digital more often, and health plans often underestimate their
digital prowess. Some 70% of people nearing Medicare age have gone online to
perform at least one health activity in the past year. Also, generally, they
are a healthier subset of consumers.
3. Personalizing
those digital journeys: The life situations of
those reaching Medicare age are markedly different, so health plans would be
wise to use data offered by potential enrollees to personalize the enrollment
experience by delivering personally relevant content, thus becoming a valued
and respected resource.
Philip
Betbeze is the senior leadership editor at HealthLeaders.
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