Question

1. Health insurance exchanges will make web-based, comparative information on the features and costs of health insurance plans available to facilitate informed choices. What barriers or challenges might be expected in requiring consumers to participate in their selection of health insurance plans?

Answer 1

The barriers or challenges faced by a consumer in selection of a health plan are as follows:-

1) In the process of purchasing health insurance plan consumer dread shopping for health insurance plan because they are not able to fully understand the product explained to them yet they realise the importance of health and financial implications lying in them leads to increase in stress in consumer.

2) The trust or believe of a consumer on health insurance companies is again stressful. The doubt or confusion in consumers mind about the value of health insurance plan.

2) Intelligent consumer never wants a cheap plan. The plan should represent on indicate the best value they could afford.

4) Assessing the value of health insurance plan . Consumer gets confused by cost sharing terms such as "out of pocket, yearly benefit limit". These are some of the complex concepts which a consumer is unable to understand.

5) The difficulty arises in understanding the term co insurance . A consumer is not able to understand the implications and meaning of this term which in turn leads to confusion like ( who is gone pay indicated percentage, calculation of percentage and to what number does percentage apply to) so it becomes difficult for a consumer to know his or her obligations.

6) some of the medical service description are confusing such as what is the difference in primary and preventive care, difference in diagnostic test and screening.

Conclusion is that before selling a health plan health insurance agency should emphasise on improving the product , improving communication about product, improvement in educating and activating a consumer.