Are benefits advisors ready for the digital future?

Below is an excerpt of a BenefitsPRO article by Empara president Markus Waite. 

In the healthcare administration space, organizations are deeply invested in lowering benefit costs. They often prioritize offering new service solutions over investing in the technology and integration needed to connect these solutions and improve the benefits experience for members. This focus is understandable—their primary goal is to ensure the groups receive the best coverage and benefits. They're not tech companies with resources to build, support, and iterate on a tech solution. 

Technology is the future to deliver solutions and engage members, and organizations that fail to prioritize tech will risk becoming obsolete. The landscape is evolving rapidly, and outdated technologies simply don't meet member expectations in a world shaped by Netflix, Apple, and Amazon experiences. AI and seamless integration of member experiences is where healthcare is heading. To truly succeed and grow, benefit administrators and consultants need to have a roadmap for investing in the right technology that can streamline future operations, enhance member engagement, and deliver a connected benefits experience that sets their services apart.  

While this may sound daunting, the good news is they don’t need to hire an entire team of engineers and in-house developers to do this. Affordable technology already exists that brings the benefit experience—and solutions—together.  

Here’s what you should consider when choosing a technology partner to help you lead in healthcare’s new digital era: 

Truly Configurable Tech is Key 

Essentially every tech tool in the benefit space will claim that it is customizable. But, as they say, the devil is in the details. Brokers and TPAs are wise to investigate exactly what can be configured and in what ways. In the complex benefit space, one-size-fits-all solutions are a myth — real customization is essential.  

For instance, what is the member experience? Can the solution be branded dynamically to carry either your brand or the brand of the client company itself? Does that go beyond just swapping a logo? Are the colors and fonts customizable as well to reinforce brand recognition for the user with the organization providing the benefit?  

Beyond the appearance and feel, is it easy for administrators to turn features on and off or rearrange the menu? Tools should be seamless and intuitive based on the specific benefits offered — the last thing anyone wants is for members to give up on the tool because they’re confused by features that don’t work with their plan or unable to find a feature they need. 

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