Can Shopping for Healthcare be as Easy as Planning a Trip Online?

by, Jeff Hechemy, group president, Xerox Healthcare Payer and Pharma

The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will put consumers in the driver’s seat when it comes to health insurance decisions, and states and companies on the clock when it comes to Health Insurance Exchanges (HIXs). The result? A demand for states and insurance companies alike to simplify the healthcare experience.

What’s a HIX? Think of it as a TripAdvisor for health insurance, only instead of comparing flights and hotels, customers choose from a wide selection of insurers. You’ll now be able to compare and choose affordable coverage just as you’re able to compare and choose flights on Expedia or products on Amazon. Selecting and making changes to your coverage and dependent information will be as easy as logging in and making changes to your Facebook profile. By 2014, all states will need to participate in a HIX, and insurance companies will need to enroll in these HIXs – or they risk losing business from consumers, to the tune of more than 25 million new members expected to be using these online portals within the next 10 years.

How does Xerox fit into the equation? Our offerings extend to all the affected players in the healthcare system – we have a leading portal solution for state governments, insurance companies and employers (self-insured plans), and we’re helping prepare each organization for HIXs with specific services to meet their needs.

In fact, we recently announced a partnership with HealthPlan Services to help insurance companies quickly get enrolled in HIXs, remain compliant, and thrive in this new scenario. For states, we recently partnered with CHOICE Administrators Exchange Solutions to develop customized solutions so they can easily comply with the requirements of the ACA.  We’re helping Florida Health Choices administer its insurance marketplace and we were recently awarded the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange in Nevada.

So the only question left to answer is, “can shopping for healthcare be as easy as planning a trip online?” In short – yes and it’s happening sooner than you may think.

Jeff Hechemy is responsible for Xerox’s work helping simplify back-office processes and improving customer interactions for some of the largest health plans in the U.S. He is also an avid tennis player who has been nationally ranked and still competes in competitive tennis tournaments around the country.