Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and UnitedHealthcare offer the best mobile provider search tools among major Medicare Advantage insurers, according to a February report from Corporate Insight shared with Becker’s.
The report evaluated tools available on iOS and looked at both in-house tools and third-party tools, while those that redirected to an external mobile browser were excluded. Researchers conducted all provider searches using primary care physicians as the search subject. Each insurer’s tool was evaluated across three main areas: platform, interface and findability; search process; and result details and management capabilities.
Four notes:
1. Of the 12 payers evaluated, only Anthem BCBS and UnitedHealthcare earned the report’s top excellent rating. The remaining payers were distributed across the three lower tiers:
Good: Aetna, BCBS Massachusetts, BCBS North Carolina, Highmark BCBS, Humana
Fair: Kaiser Permanente, Regence BCBS, SCAN Health Plan, UPMC Health Plan
Poor: HealthSpring (formerly Cigna, now Health Care Service Corp.)
According to the report, insurers earning an excellent rating offer exceptional provider search experiences with strong findability, robust search capabilities, well-organized results and exceptional management capabilities, potentially including personalization. Insurers receiving a poor rating offer functional tools that still return search results but have usability flaws that are likely to cause member confusion or frustration.
2. The report identified specific competitive differentiators for each top-rated insurer. Anthem has a personalized and transparent search experience, including use of member health history data to surface preset search options and a real-time member feedback option to refine future recommendations. Anthem also generates a side-by-side provider comparison table.
UnitedHealthcare was highlighted for robust management and customization capabilities, including the ability to compare up to five providers simultaneously, which the report identified as the most of any evaluated insurer, along with an editable and shareable side-by-side comparison table.
3. The report noted three recurring shortcomings across apps. First, fewer than half of insurers offer a home screen link to their provider search tool, and only one-third offer access from a bottom row menu. Second, most insurers sort results by best match, relevance, or preferred, but all but two insurers do not define what those criteria mean. Third, only 33% of insurers allow members to compare providers in their app.
4. The report identified three main priorities for insurers. First, apps should surface the provider search tool via the home screen or bottom row navigation at minimum, with pre-login availability representing an area of potential innovation. Second, plans should introduce advanced search or pre-filter capabilities so members can narrow results before they are generated. Third, plans should communicate provider network statuses to reduce the risk of members selecting out-of-network providers.
