Problems

Difficult to compare plans, on mobile and desktop

To compare plans, users had to open up individual plans and look through brochures of benefits to find what they were looking for. Searching for care details in minuscule text through twenty page PDF documents isn’t how you want to spend your weekend. While this was a difficult task on a computer, it was even more impossible on a mobile or tablet device. Users with these devices are forced to download PDFs, find an OS native app to open them up, pinch to zoom, and scroll left and right, up and down, reading the equivalent of a dictionary.

Hard to know if information was relevant to you

Each person or family has their own healthcare needs. People with preexisting conditions might need to visit their doctor more often, while others may only need a check-up or vaccine a couple of times a year. It was difficult to know what information was most relevant to people’s tailored needs, while still being general enough to work for the masses. Health terms, like HMO, PPO, and deductibles, are also difficult to decipher for first-time users with a quick Google search.

Solutions

Responsive design and at-a-glance views

Instead of having users look into the detailed versions of their plans, we brought the plans to them with multiple at-a-glance views. We accomplished this through a few versions of tables and cards (that work on desktop, tablet, and mobile!), abstracting away the primary pain point of searching and comparing health plans. Rather than using fancy medical terminology, we used phrases like — what you pay per month (premium) and out-of-pocket maximums.

Narrowing in on available options

To help get specialized care for each customer, we started every journey with a few questions — where do you live, and what kind of coverage are you looking for? This helped us narrow down the available plans that vary per city and county. Once that was sorted, we were able to help users sort their options by what they valued the most. Did a user want to pay less every time they visited the doctor, or pay less money every month? Are there any special needs or prescriptions that should be accounted for?

Additional at-a-glance views