Benefits November 13, 2002

Managed Care Offering More Online

November 13, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Visits to managed care website have gone up 8% since March 2002 as more services are offered to customers, according to a Cap Gemini Ernst & Young US LLC (CGE&Y) survey.
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Increases in online services since March were seen in:

  • 44% offer prescription drug ordering, up from 14%
  • 67% allow online claims tracking, up from 59%
  • 55% online benefits explanation, up from 45%
  • 37% ability to switch physicians online, up from 29%

The study of 97 external health care Web sites also looked at which services are offered most by managed care Web sites:

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  • 97% – provider directories
  • 87% – publications
  • 86% – formularies
  • 80% – customer service
  • 71% – replacement card requests
  • 55% – view explanation of benefits.

Customers are not the only ones seeing an increase in the services provided.   Health care providers are offered increasing services to them as well, with Web sites now offering:

  • 87% – physicians online formularies
  • 69% – access to claim status information
  • 67% – access to medical and administrative policies
  • 64% – online eligibility status information
  • 56% – online referral authorization.  

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has thrown up some barriers for some managed care Web sites, since March there are fewer Web sites offering:

  • 72% offer two way email, down from 90%
  • 21% submission of claims electronically, down from 31%

Privacy statements are also on the rise with 86% of Web sites offering them now, up from 72% in March.

CGE&Y says the increase in online services available may one day replace customer service representatives for basic administrative transactions, allowing representatives to spend more time on substantive questions.

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