The strategic move could pay off for CVS Health's Medicare Advantage members.
In its latest business move, CVS Health has tacitly acquired Hella Health, a tech-enabled Medicare Advantage (MA) broker based in New York City. Hella Health operates as a wholly owned insurance agency with a national platform in all states.
While CVS has not put out a press release about the deal, Hella Health CEO and founder Rafal Walkiewicz announced the news in a LinkedIn post. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Walkiewicz did express his belief that it will further enhance CVS Health’s digital capabilities, particularly for their senior members.
“Through this combination, CVS Health will expand its multi-payor technology platform to include a wide range of insurance offerings, supported by trusted advisors and agents, to provide a simple, direct-to-consumer Medicare shopping and enrollment experience,” Walkiewicz said.
This is a savvy move by CVS. Payers have been recently struggling with their digital platforms, specifically regarding MA, as these platforms typically have seen a much lower rate of engagement. Members are increasingly unsatisfied with the digital health insurance experience, and this can have a somewhat substantial effect on member loyalty.
Care management has always been a pain point for payers in terms of expense and navigation. As a result, many payers have not seen a return on investment from their care management efforts. Some payers appear to let care management fall by the wayside in favor of more big picture opportunities, but care management can affect a great deal of a payer’s business and will continue to do so.
Care management is becoming an increasingly important aspect of whole health for plan members, especially as the sector focuses on the concept of value-based care models.
Other payers will likely follow suit and explore options for better tools to boost their ROI in this space. These tools must be functional and enable engagement with providers in their networks, as well as craft a user-friendly digital experience for members. When payers are able to do this and increase all-around participation in their care-management programs, member engagement improves, as can star ratings, and better, informed health outcomes.
Marie DeFreitas is the finance editor for HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
This move to partner with a tech-enabled broker likely looks to bolster CVS Health’s digital member experience
Many payers have been struggling with digital member experience and care management
This is a strategic move by CVS to boost member engagement amongst seniors