Emails, Letters Spur Better Plan Choices Among California Exchange Members
California’s individual health exchange successfully used inexpensive email and letters to encourage consumers to switch to lower-cost coverage that provided them with better benefits, according to new research. The 2019 program from Covered California potentially could be duplicated in other states to help consumers save on coverage, according to the study, which was published in Health Affairs.
During the 2019 open enrollment period for California’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace, Covered California used a randomized intervention to see if low-income beneficiaries, particularly those who earn less than 200% of the federal poverty level, could be encouraged to enroll in silver plans with cost-sharing reduction (CSR) subsidies, which made more sense for them.