Community Health Options

A human-centered approach to health insurance

THE CHALLENGE

Community Health Options is the largest provider of individual health insurance in Maine and one of the few remaining co-operatives in the U.S. Seeking to regain market share in an increasingly competitive landscape, Community Health Options needed to radically overhaul their digital platform and create new ways to engage with their customers.

THE SOLUTION

A complete transformation of Community Health Options’ digital presence, including their public-facing website, member portal and provider directory. With the first release launched in time for 2019 enrollment, the new digital experience reflects this non-profit’s commitment to remain an accessible, reliable partner for the community they serve.

double spread of insights report with portraits of Mainers

It’s remarkable how often people pick health plans based on what their neighbor or friend says. It’s so complex that most people are ill-equipped to do the right analysis

W. Doug Smith, Community Health Options board member

Simplifying the healthcare experience

Choosing and managing health insurance is incredibly complex in the U.S., and increasingly stressful and frustrating for many Americans. The goal was to simplify that experience for any healthcare consumer. Maine is the oldest state in the nation, with a rural population and a struggling economy, which further complicates the state’s healthcare needs.

Insights report: Maine statistics snapshot

Conveying a sense of community and caring

Deep-dive interviews were conducted to try to understand the needs of consumers and stakeholders. Design principles were then developed to ensure that the new platform is simple, reliable, human and local. Like a provider would do in person, the digital experience should anticipate a consumer’s needs and questions.

The updated website offers distinct channels for different audience types, using color to differentiate the experience. The existing brand identity was built on to make it contemporary, and relatable photography and graphics were introduced to convey the strong relationship focus of the brand.

Community Health Options website: Choose your plan page

The website includes an innovative breakdown of the essentials needed to understand and compare plans. Visualized as a journey, information is presented as destinations to support informed decision-making.

Personalizing the member experience

Often when a consumer needs to interact with their health insurance provider, it is because they are trying to resolve an issue. Anxiety is at its peak and often information is hard to decipher. The re-designed member portal includes a sleek, personalized dashboard with clear access to all essential information, including plan details and progress on healthcare spending. A new experience architecture organizes previously hard-to-find content, including prescription information, member benefits and more, and serves it up in simple, intuitive ways.

Finding a provider that is nearby and accepting new patients also can be difficult. The provider lookup was re-designed to include accessible filters for search refinement, and robust provider profiles to make the process of finding an in-network doctor, hospital or pharmacy as painless as possible. The mobile experience was also optimized across the platform.

Mobile screens for Provider directory and Provider detail

Efficiently managing complex information

Understanding benefits and coverage, including in and out-of-network costs, is challenging for even the most savvy healthcare consumers. Creating an online experience that seamlessly enables members to “self-serve” was an essential part of this digital transformation, supporting Community Health Options’ vision to provide a better patient experience, better health outcomes, and controlled costs. Contextual help, real-time status updates and clear information design showing the breakdown of services and pricing, are just some of the ways that the new platform helps consumers to be more informed and in control of their healthcare spending.