The Rise of Healthcare Apps and the Implications for Insurance Policies

Much like many other industries, the healthcare landscape is rapidly changing with the enhanced integration of technology. Health insurance companies have begun integrating technology into their health insurance policies and plans to make administrative processes simpler and accessing care more convenient.

Healthcare apps allow insurance policyholders to manage their healthcare journey from the palm of their hand, giving them more capability to take care of tasks like appointment scheduling, payments, and accessing virtual care. With the rise of healthcare apps, policyholders have more power and support in their hands to streamline care navigation and take charge of their health.

The Rise of Healthcare Apps and Digitization

The healthcare insurance industry has been known to be slightly behind when it comes to embracing digital innovation. However, the industry has improved in rapidly embracing technology and healthcare digitization over the past several years to streamline customer support and administrative processes.

The rise of healthcare apps to help policyholders manage their healthcare journey is one of the most notable improvements. These apps can serve several functions, allowing policyholders to schedule doctors’ appointments, handle payments, contact member support, and even engage in virtual appointments.

Today, over 350,000 healthcare apps are available to policyholders. Popular examples of healthcare apps include those that provide access to mental health providers, connect you with virtual primary care appointments, and provide you with a place to manage your healthcare information.

With this rise of healthcare apps, it’s up to insurance policy seekers to research their plan options and the apps they have to offer. For many, choosing a plan with a comprehensive, easy-to-use app can be a good idea for getting the most out of their health insurance plan.

Healthcare Apps’ Impact on Insurance Policies

Health apps are reshaping the traditional health insurance landscape, improving access to healthcare and making the care process more efficient altogether.

As a result, these apps have several effects on health insurance policies:

• The integration of apps into the health insurance process helps to reduce administrative costs for healthcare companies, which can, in turn, reduce premiums and out-of-pocket costs.
• Healthcare apps are causing insurance companies to promote more preventive care and healthy habit formation before treatment.
• App data can be used to influence plan structures in ways like discounts for using certain apps or meeting designated health goals.
• An app makes it easier to manage patient healthcare information, history, scheduling, and payments, which can reduce the workload on staff within the company.
• App data provides a better picture of member healthcare usage and spending, which can influence plan offerings and rates.

All of these impacts add up, providing more value to policyholders and changing the way they interact with their healthcare journey.

Benefits for Policyholders

With their impact on plan structures and the convenience of being able to manage your healthcare needs from a singular device, health apps offer several benefits for policyholders. After all, apps put the power of navigating your healthcare journey into the palm of your hand.

Policyholders can benefit from using health apps in the following ways:

• Cost-savings – Because apps reduce the workload on medical and administrative staff, the reduced administrative costs for insurance companies turn into cost savings for policyholders as well.
• Easier access to care – With the help of a convenient app, patients can access care more easily without having to wait as long for a doctor’s appointment to address their concerns.
• Increased support – A healthcare app can make it easier to connect with your plan provider, allowing members to receive direct support regarding healthcare concerns or questions about their policy in real-time.
• Time-savings – An app saves policyholders time by providing access to virtual care, allowing others to not have to travel to appointments and avoid time on the phone scheduling them.

With all the benefits of apps, policyholders should consider the availability of technology as one of their deciding factors when choosing the right healthcare plan.

Choosing the Right Healthcare Plan with Redirect Health

At Redirect Health, the Redirect Health Member App is an integral part of our healthcare plans, which are app-based and virtual first. Our app allows members to connect with the care team 24/7/365 as well as submit an ExtraHelp request for any question or concern whenever it’s needed. The care team is always their to guide virtual or in-person care, as well as prescriptions, and any other needs you may have,

In addition to providing access to healthcare 24/7, our app allows you to do the following from one place, right in the palm of your hand:

• Pay your doctor
• Access your ID cards
• Access your plan details
• View an out-of-pocket summary of your visits
• Upload pictures of bills & receipts
• Update your health and personal information

We offer plans for individuals and families, as well as small businesses. On top of our easy-to-use member app, our plans are affordable and comprehensive, offering no-cost access to primary care and fixed, low monthly costs. Members also enjoy access to virtual or in-person primary care, no-cost mental health care, and ongoing support from our Care Team to ensure that they get access to the care they need.

Explore our plans for yourself to find one that’s right for you.

Make Healthcare Apps a Part of Your Healthcare Policy

Healthcare apps offer several benefits for patients and are a foundational part of the future of the health insurance industry. The rise and improvement of apps will only make it easier to manage your healthcare information, interact with your health insurance policies, enjoy financial transparency, and find care when you need it.

At Redirect Health, we offer the Redirect Health Member App, which gives you control and support in your healthcare journey throughout every step. Between our easy-to-use app and our Care Team, we go above and beyond to make navigating healthcare simple. Low monthly premiums and out-of-pocket costs make our technology-centered plans even more valuable so you can maintain peace of mind.

Contact Redirect Health today to learn more about how a healthcare app can streamline your healthcare journey and discover your options.