BAH Interview of David Cordani (Cigna)

Booz Allen Hamilton has been writing good pieces on healthcare and the trends. Here are a few items from their interview back in March of David Cordani (president of Cigna Healthcare).

CORDANI: “The industry’s winners will be those that differentiate by engaging, educating, and enabling their members to navigate the health-care system independently. We define consumerism broadly and have identified four critical elements that will make it work: financing vehicles, which incorporate new health plans; choice and convenience, which will be the key to making services easier to access through a variety of channels, whether it is online, through mini-clinics, or otherwise; member engagement, which is the linchpin of consumerism; and, last, information transparency around the quality and cost of services. These give consumers the insight into the market forces that they need to make informed decisions.”

I think this is a great quote on what consumerism is – financing, choice / convenience, member engagement, and transparency.

The article also talks about Cigna’s segmentation of patients and their mapping of 264 different touchpoints that they have with the consumer. A great first step.

Assured planners represent about 34 percent of the population. They are relatively thoughtful and make sure they have what they need. Price isn’t a driver for them; what matters are comfort, security, and even status. They are also the most affluent.

Enlightened shoppers make up about 16 percent of the population. They do their own research online, read Consumer Reports, and figure out exactly what they want. They then spend time and energy finding the best deal. They’re also likely to experiment with alternative medicine, as well as other new products and services.

Steady contenders make up 28 percent of the population, and they tend to be content with what they have and would prefer to stick with it. They need a very compelling reason to change.

Cavaliers want nothing to do with health care. They’re the most likely to smoke and are in the worst physical condition. Cavaliers account for a little more than a fifth of the population.

If you are an analyst or strategist in the healthcare space, they have a few must reads that I will highlight here for you.