HealthMine Publishes White Paper: 'A Call for Care That's Personal, Accessible and Social,' Addressing Communication Issues between Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries and the U.S. Healthcare System

DALLAS, Aug. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- HealthMine, the health action as a service company (HAaaS), announced the publication of its 2019 white paper entitled, A Call for Care That's Personal, Accessible and Social by Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, a leading health economist and communicator.  The paper focuses on the needs for improved communication between the U.S. healthcare system and Medicare Advantage (MA) beneficiaries (especially Baby Boomers) who are dubbed as "digital immigrants." As immigrants, people learn to adapt to new environments, often retaining a foot in the past. The paper notes that digital immigrants are increasingly learning about, understanding and valuing the convenience of online access, quick turnaround time, and personalized service and support they find in other aspects of their digital lives outside of health care.

The paper concludes that what matters to the Medicare Advantage consumer is personalized support, advice, and tools customized for individual goals and health objectives. As Boomers continue to age into Medicare, they'll be seeking services and life-flows that fit into their vision of what healthy aging looks and feels like. Medicare Advantage plans have the opportunity to meet this demand for greater care at home, financial wellness, trustworthy advice, and independent living for as long as possible. The paper can be accessed at https://www.healthmine.com/research. Key data for the paper is cited from a 2019 HealthMine survey of 800 Medicare Advantage plan members, plus other top-tier sources including CMS and Kaiser Health.

According to HealthMine Vice President of Member Engagement Products, Nicole Althaus, "Our research uncovers the perceived issues that Medicare Advantage beneficiaries have with the health system.  The directional data is used to help drive more solutions to create a personalized digital experience for continuous health action by seniors. The health system needs to flex to meet the communication needs of these Baby Boomer digital immigrants.  Our data shows that Medicare beneficiaries are personally engaged in their health – but they are not always personally connected to providers, plans and support services. It is why continuous health action is our unending, focused mission."  

Key issues addressed in the paper are the following:

• The rapid pace of growth of Medicare adding 10,000 people per day in the US
• Doctors are cited by Medicare beneficiaries as the most trusted and primary touchpoint for health, noted by 94 percent of respondents in the HealthMine survey
• Men indicate they are more digitally engaged than women
• Medicare women spend more on health than men, yet women live longer than men and women's financial savings tend to be lower than men's
• Younger Medicare beneficiaries are more digitally engaged (connected) than their older counterparts
• Medicare Advantage members note an overall dissatisfaction of health care portals
• Beneficiaries indicate they are willing to share their personal health information for research
• One of the biggest barriers to older patients not engaging with digital technology for health care is patient's perceived lack of utility –rooted in a lack of personalization

About the Survey
The 2019 HealthMine Medicare Survey queried 800 insured age 65+ consumers with a chronic condition who are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan in May 2019. Data were collected via an opt-in panel. The margin of error was three percent (3%). Dynata fielded the survey.  Dynata is one of the world's leading providers of first-party data contributed by consumers and business professionals.

About Jane Sarasohn-Kahn
Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, MA, MHSA is a health economist, communicator & trend weaver. She is author of the Health Populi blog and the book, HealthConsuming: From Health Consumer to Health Citizen. Through the lens of a health economist, Jane defines health broadly, working with organizations at the intersection of consumers, technology, health and healthcare. For over two decades, Jane has advised every industry that touches health including providers, payers, technology, pharmaceutical and life science, consumer goods, food, Foundations and public sector.

About HealthMine
HealthMine is the only Health Action as a Service company (HAaaS) originally built inside a Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) health plan. HealthMine's services help health plans target and empower individuals to take actions that improve clinical outcomes while decreasing total cost of care and increasing plan revenue. HealthMine is online at www.healthmine.com.

SOURCE HealthMine, Inc.

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