Health plan members no longer seek transactional healthcare interactions—they expect personalized, accessible, and engaging experiences. For health plans, meeting these expectations isn’t just desirable—it’s essential. To meet this increasing demand, payers are investing in integrated solutions that can help them streamline workflows, deliver personalized care, and empower members.
These solutions not only enhance member satisfaction and clinical outcomes but also give payers a competitive edge in an increasingly complex market.
This blog explores how leading health plans are investing in care management workflow software, AI tools, and self-service digital resources to deliver world-class member experiences and boost CMS Star Ratings.
The Shift Toward Personalized Care
Today’s healthcare consumers want to feel like more than just policy numbers. They want healthcare options that offer the convenience, clarity, and customization they’ve come to expect with their retail experiences. According to recent surveys, 59% of members expect health plans to prioritize health equity, while 52% cite a demand for self-service tools.
Personalized care has more benefits than just meeting members’ expectations. It can also help improve health literacy, increase preventive care utilization, and contribute to better care outcomes. The value of personalization for health plans goes far beyond member satisfaction—engaged members are healthier members, which translates to fewer hospitalizations, greater satisfaction, and higher retention rates.
To meet member expectations, health plan executives are turning to three core digital investments.
Top Areas of Digital Investment for Healthcare Payers
Health plan leaders strategically dedicate resources to technologies that drive operational efficiency, reduce administrative burdens, and place members at the center of their strategies.
1. Care Management Workflow Software
Care management workflow software provides the critical infrastructure to streamline and optimize care delivery. These tools improve coordination between care teams, reduce inefficiencies, and enable real-time data sharing for seamless decision-making.
GuidingCare® is an industry-leading solution that integrates care management, population health, and utilization management into a unified platform. With features like automated care planning and advanced care coordination tools, GuidingCare helps payers deliver whole-person care while freeing up staff to spend more time engaging directly with members.
Benefits of Care Management Workflow Software:
- Efficient Workflow Automation: Streamlines processes, reducing time-intensive manual tasks.
- Personalized Interventions: Supports tailored solutions by identifying high-risk members and alerting providers.
- Seamless Communication: Breaks down internal silos to help ensure care teams, providers, and members can communicate more effectively.
2. Artificial Intelligence
AI is already making an impact in healthcare, with its potential to provide actionable insights, automate repetitive tasks, and predict outcomes with precision. For health plans, incorporating AI tools allows for resource allocation and streamlined decision-making.
In addition, AI-powered predictive analytics can identify high-risk members who need immediate attention, enabling plans to proactively engage these individuals and close gaps in care before conditions worsen.
How AI Benefits Health Plans:
- Early Identification of High-Risk Members: AI can forecast member health risks and recommend timely interventions.
- Improved Administrative Efficiency: Automates claims processing and fraud detection, saving valuable resources.
- Higher Member Satisfaction: AI tools can help personalize communications, making members feel valued.
3. Self-Service Digital Resources
Instead of traditional phone calls, members increasingly demand the convenience of self-service tools that give them access to their health history, benefits information, and care programs. Empowering members to manage aspects of their health journey not only improves satisfaction but can also increase member touchpoints and extend existing resources.
The GuidingCare integration with Wellframe delivers digital checklists and personalized health reminders, helping members stay engaged with their care plans. Wellframe offers more than 70 digital care programs, an on-demand resource library, and personalized daily health checklist that supports members wherever they are on their health journeys.
Benefits of Self-Service Tools:
- Empower Members: Enable members to check coverage details, schedule preventive screenings, and access educational content.
- Reduce Friction: Lower costs and make healthcare services more accessible and transparent.
- Enhance Member Engagement: Provide reminders and tools aligned with the member’s unique health goals. Members who use the Wellframe solution average 34 interactions per member per month.
Real-Life Impact: Nonprofit Health Plan
One nonprofit health plan partnered with HealthEdge® to modernize its digital care solutions. By integrating GuidingCare with HealthRules® Payer, the payer was able to reduce administrative fragmentation and offer its million-plus members a better, more efficient healthcare experience. This transformation improved data accuracy and strengthened member trust—essential elements in a competitive healthcare marketplace.
The healthcare industry is being reshaped by rapid advancements in technology, and health plans must adapt to thrive. By investing in these innovative tools, health plans can create meaningful member experiences, improve health outcomes, and stay competitive in a field where personalization is the key differentiator.
Learn more about the trends driving health plan investment and modernization. Download the HealthEdge Annual Payer Market Planning Report 2025