consumer perspectives on healthcare reform, one year later
TRANSCRIPT
Consumer Perspectives on
Healthcare Reform, One Year Later
Anjali Lai, Community Manager
Kristopher Arcand, Community Manager October 24, 2014
© 2014 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited
Health Exchange Open Enrollment : One Year Later
1 Source: Bracing for New Challenges in Year 2 of Health Care Law 2 For more information, see: Mapping The US Health Insurance Landscape From The Consumer's Perspective
Forrester Research tracked consumers’ candid, unprompted commentary about the Affordable Care Act by tuning into relevant online conversations posted across a variety of sites since October 2013. Forrester also leveraged its ConsumerVoices Market Research Online Community (MROC) to evaluate how recent experiences influenced customer perspectives of the Affordable Care Act, and of their health insurance providers.
On October 1 of last year, open enrollment - a part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - went into effect. The first year of enrollment under this federal law was marked by a turbulent start to HealthCare.gov, widespread confusion among consumers, and a steep learning curve for insurers and government officials alike.1 In anticipation of the shifts in the health insurance landscape, we published a report last July that provided a holistic view of consumer attitudes towards the Affordable Care Act and relevant expectations they had of health insurance providers.2 Now, we take a historical view to understand how these attitudes and expectations have evolved over the past year.
© 2014 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited
OCTOBER to DECEMBER 2013 AUGUST to OCTOBER 2014
Mentions: The number of times an
instance of insight-rich text
about the Affordable Care Act
appears online
Sentiment: A score representing how
positive or negative
commentary is, where
-100% is negative, 0 is
neutral, and 100% is
positive.
Mentions: The number of times an
instance of insight-rich text
about the Affordable Care Act
appears online
Sentiment: A score representing how
positive or negative
commentary is, where
-100% is negative, 0 is
neutral, and 100% is
positive.
13,134,426 -21% 1,168,742 -14%
Source: NetBase Aggregated Social Listening Data, October 2013 – October 2014 (Global)
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Consumer-generated conversation about the Affordable Care Act:
Although consumer-generated conversation about the Affordable Care Act has waned over the past year, sentiment of the dialogue has remained negative. However, while conversation in late 2013 was politically charged, recent chatter relates to functionality of the healthcare system and customer experience under the law.
Conversation shifts from politics to experience
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Specifically, consumers fixate on high costs
Source: Forrester’s ConsumerVoices Market Research Online Community, Q4 2014 (US)
Negative consumer conversation about customer experience under the Affordable Care Act is largely driven by attitudes towards cost. Individuals who were mandated to purchase health insurance under the law express frustration at having to pay for healthcare they feel they don’t need; at the same time, consumers who were already covered feel that the law’s implementation resulted in higher premiums.
“If you are healthy, you are still punished because you have to pay
huge premiums, regardless. The government only reimburses you if you
are poor and if you cannot get insurance through an employer - the rest of
us are screwed.” – Female, Age 45 to 49
“Doctors quitting, costs sky rocket. Provider lists change daily. Worst
thing ever.” – Male, Age 30 to 34
“My health insurance hasn't changed at all from last year, so it hasn't
affected me that I know of. A lot of people I have talked with are very
negative about it because it has so many ramifications.” – Female, Age
50 to 54
A large number of consumers speak to others’ negative experiences rather than their own. This
suggests that passions run high across the consumer market, regardless of whether a consumer was
directly, personally affected by the Affordable Care Act.
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By adopting an age of the customer mentality, insurers can evolve the conversation further
“The healthcare payer market is being disrupted by new laws and regulations –
especially the Affordable Care Act. In response to the new regulations, the health
insurance industry is pivoting toward consumer-based business models…
Regulations mean healthcare payers must infuse “customer” into their business.”
- Skip Snow
The second year of open enrollment under the Affordable Care Act presents health
insurers with greater opportunity – and mandated responsibility – to shift the
healthcare focus from costs and procedures to wellness and high-quality
outcomes.
Therefore, health insurers have a stake in learning about wellness, quality, and
efficiency of care; investing in improving consumer health; and developing strong
digital experiences. By the same token, health insurers have the potential to
improve consumer perceptions of the industry, and change the nature of
conversation.
To learn more, see the April 2014 report: 2014 Technology Imperatives For US
Healthcare Insurers
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How we can help you DATA-DRIVEN INSIGHTS THAT PROVIDE A 360° VIEW OF THE CONSUMER
Technographics Survey Data
Who are they? What do they say they do?
Technographics Behavioral Data
What, where, and when are they doing things?
Technographics Qualitative Data
Why are they doing it? Why are they saying it?
Technographics Social Listening Data
What are they talking about? How are they
talking about it?
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