Health plan champions share key strategies
Focus locally and act with local autonomy
As a hospital, are you contracting with managed care organizations that have the right stuff? As a health plan, do you have what it takes to be a champion?
Nine health plans, rated by their members as superior, share seven outstanding service strategies, including a local focus, access to national or regional resources, and a commitment to quality.
The nine health plans were identified by Sachs Group, a health care consulting firm based in Evanston, IL, through an analysis of 85,000 consumers in 27 major markets. They were rated superior based on a combination of 24 factors grouped into four categories: access, convenience, quality, and general perception/value.
Key strategies implemented
According to Sachs’ report on HMOs, "Champions of Satisfaction," these nine health plans successfully implement seven key strategies. Their strategies are as follows:
• Listen to the customer.
Consistently listen and respond to the customer by giving them choice, clearly explaining benefits, and resolving problems on the first call.
• Partner with physicians.
Foster outstanding relationships, define roles and responsibilities of the plan and physicians, share financial rewards equitably, and maintain open lines of communication.
• Commit to quality.
Invest heavily in quality initiatives and in the information systems needed to communicate the results to their partners, physicians, employers, and enrollees.
• Focus locally.
Meet market needs with local autonomy and act at the local level.
• Tap into larger resources.
Take advantage of regional or national resources, maximize economies of scale, and shared lessons.
• Build brand equity. Invest heavily in building brand equity as health care heads toward becoming a commodity product, making brand image and reputation critical to a plan’s success.
• Share a vision. Understand that health care is personal and impacts individuals’ lives and commit to making high quality health care even better.
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