Probably so, according to results of a new survey of health plan operators and a separate external survey of 59 health plan Web sites, performed by First Consulting Group. Only a handful of managed care plans are taking advantage of cutting edge Internet-based technology to save money and simplify administrative tasks.
Many plans are still in the mindset that having an Internet presence is just an added cost.
Furthermore, health plans are crafting Internet strategies around commercial populations, often ignoring their Medicare business and forgetting about the Medicaid product, according to managed care and e-commerce experts. Managed care Internet leaders have rolled out interactive capabilities for conducting online transactions, such as online enrollment, referral processing and claims processing. Current managed care Internet leaders include Oxford Health Plans, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Health Plans, Foundation Health Systems Inc.'s Health Net, PacifiCare Health Systems Inc., Neighborhood Health Plan and numerous Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, such as Wellpoint Health Networks Inc., according to Christopher McGoldrick, manager of First Consulting's Emerging Practices Group. For example, PacifiCare dedicates a significant portion of its Web site to members enrolled in Secure Horizons products and the providers serving these Medicare members. While this entails an up-front financial investment, smaller plans don't have the legacy issues that larger plans have because of their older systems.