Tool to Improve Health Insurance Marketplace Consumer Experiences

How can the Health Insurance Marketplaces improve consumers’ experiences when shopping for, selecting, and enrolling in affordable health plans during future open-enrollment periods? To help answer this question, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) developed the Marketplace Survey Improvement Guide. The Guide provides seven evidence-based strategies that will help Marketplaces improve the consumer experience by giving consumers accurate and relevant information in a timely manner and helping consumers understand and use that information. The Guide also offers recommendations on where to focus improvement efforts.

Improving the consumer experience is a critical way to increase enrollment and retention in the Marketplaces, which in turn will lead to more stability in both the Marketplace and health plan premiums.

AIR created the Guide with funding from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. It is based on extensive research, including a literature review and interviews with experts, to identify the best available evidence on strategies and interventions that have enabled organizations to improve the consumer experience. In addition, an informal advisory group of Marketplace staff members provided feedback throughout the Guide’s development.

The Guide and related resources are available at no cost.

The Guide was developed by Kathryn Paez, Amanda Borsky, Ushma Patel, Brandy Farrar, Elena Lumby, Shoshanna Sofaer, Lee Thompson, Julie Jacobson Vann, Jennifer Lucado, Elizabeth Frentzel, Erin Kavanagh, Katie Manson, and Kristin Carman.