For some reason, I have ended up as someone who trains people in certain aspects of employee benefits. I’m not sure if that is because I am a good trainer, or this is simply an attempt to mitigate the potential damage of letting me loose on clients! It’s a nice role to have, as it challenges me to think about what we do and why. As I often say to trainees, the art of consultancy is trying to explain complex things in as simple way as is possible so that our clients fully understand their options, leaving them informed and empowered when making decisions. In order to achieve this, we need to understand the ‘what and why’ of our work.
This is made easier when our provider partners are also engaged in this process. It’s been nice to see that over the last 10 years, not only have most providers transformed their products, but they’ve also upped their marketing and communication game. They now communicate regularly with consulting firms, not just about product details, but about their philosophy, culture, goals, ambitions, and innovations. They sometimes even share some of their data – Gods Forbid! – and stories of success.
Allow me to share to efforts in this space by AXA Health on Optimising Healthcare from May 2024:
Exploring the Health Landscape and Claims Trends: https://vimeo.com/946617113/d18eac0916
Digestive Health and Online Outpatient Care: https://vimeo.com/946616243/a936c4eca0
This isn’t to undermine all the good stuff undertaken by the other providers. Aviva, Bupa, Vitality, and others are producing a wealth of high quality, engaging information. However, these two shares by AXA Health are particularly important in understanding what is happening in the UK market and in how UK providers intend to deal with it.
The videos set out the following themes (I’m using my language and interpretation here):
- The NHS is currently pretty screwed.
- People are flocking to private healthcare where they can afford it (self-pay) or they can get cover (individual and corporate PMI schemes).
- This is pushing up costs through a combination of a) more people being covered b) sheer incidence (more people claiming) and c) medical inflation (higher healthcare costs).
- Technology can help with all of this. Examples include:
- Wellbeing Apps can help with prevention.
- Virtual GPs can help with access to primary care, diagnostics, and treatment.
- Online claims and virtual assistants can lessen the burden on call-handling teams for private medical claims.
- Online portals and Benefit Platforms can make managing the database of whom is covered easier for all parties.
- AI/machine learning techniques can help with invoice management for both employers and healthcare providers.
But the most important part of the second presentation is about using technology to analyse the customer journey and effectively help to curate and improve the experience. In their Gastroenterology Direct Referral trial, AXA were able to get the number of people referred to face-to-face consultancy down to 15% and no further action at 23%! Those involved were able to see a specialist quicker, just virtually, and be referred on for tests and treatment quicker all whilst saving the costs of a face to face. As AXA Health controlled the personnel involved and the process, their trial showed better outcomes, less unnecessary activities, and greater customer satisfaction – the ultimate win-win.
You can criticise every action, and there is space to do so here, but the use of digital pathways by PMI providers seems to me to be the potential first step on a revolutionary path in healthcare (especially if we can get the NHS back into the game). There is the potential for improved transparency and efficiency, all backed by customer feedback and data analysis to seek out further improvements in providing an end-to-end service (taking in to account the Wellbeing and Virtual GP elements). Are we beginning to see the future of healthcare in the UK now?
If you like your employee benefit consultancy to come with a bit of thought to it, then why not reach out to EBC today to discuss them? We’d be delighted to speak to you about this or other pressing topics which will help you more than simply engaging in the old provider shuffle.
Andrew Supple, Partner
