Alegeus Looks to Enhance CDH Benefit Adoption

Alegeus, a firm specializing in consumer directed healthcare (CDH) solutions, is expanding its consumer engagement capabilities designed to maximize adoption and utilization of CDH benefit programs including high-deductible health plans and health savings accounts (HSAs). 

The firm is redesigning communications content and rolling out automated, targeted outreach programs. Alegeus says it is now able to offer its clients customizable blueprints for year-round, direct-to-consumer engagement designed to optimize CDH program participation and ongoing usage.

These expanded programs focus on foundational education, open enrollment, onboarding of new members, post-enrollment optimization and usage opportunities. “The goal of these programs is to help consumers become empowered to make better decisions and to understand the basics, such as adopting the right account; saving the right amount of money; getting a better value from their healthcare dollars; and how to take a more active role in their healthcare finances,” the firm says.

The firm argues it is also responding to a lack of awareness around health benefits. According to research by Mercer, 53% of large employers today offer HSAs, but only 23% of eligible employees adopt them. Moreover, a study by Fidelity Investments suggests that Americans lack awareness of HSA benefits, with three out of ten people surveyed saying they were unaware HSAs were not governed by a “use it or lose it policy.”

Alegeus notes that six out of 10 consumers find it challenging just to understand the differences between their benefit options. Half want guidance to answer questions, make recommendations and validate their thinking. However, most employers communicate benefits directly with employees only once a year through open enrollment.

Alegeus finds that half of employers rate their ability to articulate the value of CDH benefits as average or below, and six out of 10 rely only on paper documents and enrollment forms to educate employees. At the same time, just one-third of employers currently offer digital decision-support tools and multi-media education content, the firm says.

Steven Auerbach, Alegeus CEO, warns that “without meaningful consumer engagement to drive enrollment and optimal consumer value, our clients will not be able to fully unlock the tremendous potential of the CDH market opportunity.”