PPACA enrollees not very satisfied

“The exchanges seem to be improving access and making inroads into preventive care,” the study said.

Highlights of the study include:

• Obamacare enrollees “better understand their benefits and costs and are more likely to compare providers and services on price and, to some extent, quality. They also are willing to switch plans, thrusting carriers into a new arena of having to continually win over this segment based on price, product and service.”
• About half the exchange enrolled consumers “used an online tool to compare and negotiate prices among doctors and hospitals, versus 45 percent for those with employer-based coverage and 36 percent for those on Medicare.”
• Exchange plan enrollers were more likely to use online tools “to determine how much their plan would pay for services” compared to other plan members.

Exchange enrollees are digging into their plans to see what’s there that may help them. Nearly two-thirds said “they used their plans to seek services and purchase medication with nearly 75 percent of those saying they may not have been able to afford it without their coverage.”

The same was true when the questions turned to preventive care: 76 percent reported having “a professional they consider to be a primary care provider — twice the rate of the uninsured — and nearly 60 percent report visiting a doctor for a well visit in the past year, similar to people covered by their employers.”

Deloitte spotted opportunities for insurers in the results.

“The ACA individual market is still a new phenomenon that is up for grabs,” said Paul Lambdin, director, Deloitte Consulting LLP, and exchange practice leader for the plans sector. “Loyalty is not locked in like it is in other industries — there could be a significant opportunity for traditional players and new entrants to seize market share by listening to what consumers say about product, price and service.”