BUILDING A BETTER HEALTH INSURANCE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE
ShopHPN
In the year 2015, the state-owned Nevada healthcare exchange, Nevada Health Link, failed. The failure created a significant opportunity for private insurance companies to enroll users directly.
Health Plan of Nevada (HPN) is a subsidiary of United Healthcare, the oldest and most experienced health insurance company in Nevada.
ShopHPN is an online Healthcare Enrollment Portal for individual applicants.
The information in this case study is my own and does not necessarily reflect the views of Health Plan of Nevada.
My Role
I was the Interaction designer on this project, responsible for UX architecture, user flows, wireframes, and functional prototype.
THE CHALLENGE
Our client, Health Plan of Nevada, approached us to redesign their online Individual Enrollment Portal and launch the product within two months, in preparation for 2016 open healthcare enrollment.
Problem Question
In what ways can we create a fluid and frictionless health care enrollment experience for our prospective customers, ensuring quick and easy access to healthcare?
DISCOVERY
The research process started with meeting the HPN team. They outlined the scope of the project and the business goals. They also provided us the previous year’s analytics data from the existing enrollment portal.
Interviews & Participant Observation
We then scheduled interviews with different stakeholders, including the newly enrolled members, in order to learn about issues customers with the existing portal. We also interviewed healthcare providers to to get an in-depth insider perspective. To reach a wider audience, we attended several HPN community engagement art workshops where we were able to conduct intercept interviews with prospective customers.
Interviewing and observing users to gain insight on user needs.
DEFINITIONS
Personas
We arrived at 5 unique personas grouped into two segments: Primary and Secondary. We synthesized the collected data into segments: “reasons for enrollment” and “time of registration.” We used the personas to facilitate discussions about user needs and desires throughout the design process.
Journey Maps
We created a visual interpretation of the overall enrollment story from the user’s perspective while interacting with HPN. The Journey Maps helped us capture and present key insights into complex customer interactions. We were able to identify and visualize the main user pain points. We also used the journey maps build consensus with all the stakeholders.
IDEATION
Insights, Defining & Brainstorming
The sticky notes were an essential tool, especially when we were brainstorming. We diagrammed our discoveries by writing down our insights and grouping them in themes. We categorized information into meaningful relationships, coming up with solutions that addressed the user pain points.
PROTOTYPING
Sketching
I wanted to infuse my enthusiasm for this project from the beginning, in order to create a product that generates highly positive user emotions. I identified insurance plans as the ideal place to start sketching, since the key user goal was to purchase a health plan. To start sketching, I used thick markers to lay down the structure of my ideas quickly. I explored adding visual emphasis to specific elements on the page.
Initial structural design explorations of the health plans.
The plan was to come up with many design ideas quickly, then iterate by refining the ideas that were standing out or developing fresh design ideas inspired by what I learned from the early iterations.
Early design sketches, exploring the layout of insurance plans for mobile devices.
Exploring how a user would compare health plans on a mobile device.
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
I created the navigation for the how the pages and all content types are organized, connected, labeled and accessed.
Early design sketches, exploring the layout of insurance plans for mobile devices.
DIGITAL PROTOTYPING
Digital Mock Up
Next, I continued designing the health plans on a digital platform. This allowed me to add more detail and refine the prototype.
I started exploring how the user would see the status of the application progress while also designing the user interaction flow of the application.
Exploring user gestural patterns and interaction flow, and designing the application progress status letting the user know where they are and where they could go.
Plan iteration designs on a desktop device--exploring designs that could accommodate more plans.
PLAN COMPARISON
The user has many plans available to them. We knew we needed a better way of helping the user make an informed purchasing decision.
The idea behind the mobile plan comparison was to have a split screen that would allow the user to scroll through both sides of the screens, independently enabling the user to choose. For the design to be effective, the content had to be the same on both sides.
The desktop design maximizes the available screen space to allow the user to compare many plans.
EARLY USER TESTING
We needed to get early user feedback to enable us to create more meaningful solutions. We settled with two different designs that we presented to the users.
I created two different interactive prototypes.
We observed users performing tasks at their home or office. We prepared a list of tasks that we read to the users while they performed the tasks.
User testing session conducted at user’s home or business.
USER FLOW
The user flow was an instrumental tool in defining user tasks, including the steps that the user performs to in purchasing the health plan. It was also a great tool for facilitating clear communication with the programming team.
INTRODUCING ShopHPN
Shopping for health insurance, simplified.
The main need is to see the available health plans. The health plans are unique to each user depending on their residence, age, and tobacco use.
We designed the initial screen to show the user the number of steps and tasks that they will need to provide for them to see their plans. We limited our questions to include only the minimum information needed to proceed. The user does not have to provide their name, email or phone number to see the available health plans.
I limited the number of form fields available to the user to three. I then grayed out line 2 and 3, leaving zip code as the only form option available. If the user input is a correct Nevada zip code, the next item, a qualifying event, becomes available for selection. If the user input is a non-Nevada zip code, the user receives inline validation feedback reading “Nevada Residents Only.”
The first screen shows progress and lets the user know where they are and how many tasks are left.
I designed so that the user has the same experience across all devices. The similarity of the design affords the user to save the application process on one device and resume on a different device.
The comparison of plans on the mobile device, intended to give the user affordance to swipe right, gives the user the ability to compare more than one plan.
The application process happens in real time. Insurance cards are available for download immediately through our app.
OUTCOMES
HPN exceeded its enrollment goals. The insurance company now has a new problem: its provider facilities cannot handle the increased membership volume. This resulted in HPN partnering with Healthcare Partners to help alleviate this problem.
Later on, we created a landing page for ChooseUrgentCare.com. The page encourages members to use Urgent Care locations and avoid clogging emergency rooms, especially when users can't schedule an early doctor’s appointment.
Problem
Leading the HPN members to the Urgent Care centers resulted in a high influx of members visiting the Urgent Care locations. The wait-time for seeing a physician increased to an average of 3.5-hours.
Solution
Members can now see the doctors via a virtual video-call visit. I created the landing page for ChooseVirtualVisit.com to encourage members to use Virtual Visits, while also informing them about other available healthcare options.
Email me: hello@MosesKamau.com | Let's talk: 310-955-0288 .