Health plans know all too well that explaining the benefits of healthy actions to members often leads to no improvement in that action. It takes a lot of education, time and nudging — a costly endeavor — to drive behavior change through knowledge alone.
However, behavioral science says there may be a better way to get the value of healthy behaviors through to members and reduce plan utilization.
Research shows that feelings of fear and loss, when framed constructively, can be a powerful catalyst for change. Using this strategy in communications, especially for one-time health actions like screenings and vaccinations, can effectively inspire action and close critical care gaps quickly.
Loss aversion: Why we hate to lose
People experience the pain of a loss more intensely than the pleasure of an equivalent gain, which often leads to different behaviors depending on whether they are faced with loss or gain. This is called loss aversion.
In the book “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” author Daniel Kahneman uses a coin-toss example to illustrate this phenomenon. Kahneman discovered that people often decline a financially favorable gamble, like a coin toss offering a $150 gain versus a $100 loss, because the psychological pain of the potential loss outweighs the pleasure of the potential gain. Marketers have long used this principle with tactics like trial periods, limited-time offers and low-stock alerts.
But how can payers take advantage of this type of cognitive bias to encourage healthier behaviors? There are three messaging strategies plans can deploy: fear of loss, fear of missing out (FOMO) and the endowment effect.
1. Fear of loss
Many health communications focus on the benefits of taking action (“Stay healthy by completing your annual wellness visit.”) or simply the action itself (“You’re due for your diabetes screening.”)
Try switching the focus of your communications to what members risk losing by not completing the action. Examples include:
- "By skipping your mammogram, you’re losing the opportunity to detect cancer early when it is most treatable.”
- “Delaying a screening increases your risk of negative health consequences.”
- “Your $25 reward is about to expire. Schedule your screening today.”
2. FOMO
FOMO taps into a member’s fear of being left out or missing something valuable. When paired with loss aversion, it can be used to create urgency through scarcity in health communications. FOMO can encourage members to open emails, respond to texts and complete important health actions.
For example, instead of saying “You’re due for your annual wellness visit,” try:
- “Don’t miss your opportunity to schedule your annual wellness visit”
- “90% of members have completed their screening—schedule yours today.”
3. The endowment effect
The endowment effect refers to the tendency to place more value on things people believe they already own. The endowment effect is closely related to loss aversion —people feel loss aversion more strongly for things they perceive as theirs.
This concept was demonstrated in a 680,000-person mega study led by behavioral scientist Katy Milkman. In this study, researchers tested more than 20 different text message nudges to encourage flu vaccination. The most effective message was simple and surprising: “Your flu shot is waiting for you.” This message performed so well because participants felt like they needed to claim a vaccine that was already theirs before they lost it.
Get started with more effective messaging
Applying these strategies to your communications is entirely doable, but takes time, effort and coordination. Healthmine can do all of it for you — like we already are for other health plans, successfully.
Our communications show demonstrable and measurable improvement. We combine messaging tactics like loss aversion with rewards and outreach across channels to ensure members are supported and motivated to close care gaps.
Members who receive communication from Healthmine:
- Close 54% more care gaps
- Complete 28% more preventive visits
- Are 28% more likely to stay with their plan
By continually using member data to improve communications, we can help your plan increase member engagement, close care gaps and maximize your investment into the health of your member population. Ready to learn more?
Summary:
- Communications from health plans often focus on the benefits of healthy behaviors, but a more effective strategy to encourage behavior change may be to harness a member’s fear of loss or missing out.
- One tactic is to focus on what a member may lose by not taking action versus what they may gain.
- Plans can also use the fear of missing out (FOMO) to create urgency in communications and make members feel like they may be left out if they don’t complete a health action.
- Another communication strategy is to make a member feel like they will lose something that is already theirs, like a vaccination or screening.
- Healthmine’s communication strategy helps plans collect valuable information about members that can be used to target a member’s fears and risks. This data-driven messaging increases member engagement, improves plan performance, and reduces costs.
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