Finally, Medicare Advantage has discovered Quizzify. And, finally, Quizzify has discovered Medicare Advantage.
The question is why it took either of us so long. Here are six reasons Quizzify succeeds with an older population...and vice versa. The first three reasons will be about the members, while the second three will be about you -- the folks who are on the hook for the members.
You won’t have to take our word for any of this. While you’ll likely spend less if you simply pay us PMPY, you are more than welcome to pay us based on any measure(s) of success you choose and we can measure them all. Examples would be completed quizzes, satisfaction, and/or even “click-throughs” from our Learn More links to other resources you offer.
Did we mention engagement? Our engagement guarantee promises, with 100% of fees at risk, that we will be twice as engaging as your other engagement vendors, according to the only valid engagement measurement tool.
You might say: "Wait. I thought Quizzify was a content tool, not an engagement tool. Actually, we're two tools in one, and...
...if you want to do the math, you can also pay us based on the content leading to measurable reductions in “low-value care,” and hence cost. No need to take our word for this. UnitedHealthCare just published a study showing that health literacy can dramatically reduce unnecessary spending in the Medicare population. (This study is the beginning of their major effort to improve their own members’ health literacy.)
Here are the six reasons.
(1) Retirees have more time to spend
There was a saying in the old days of disease management: “You can’t get younger people on the phone, but you can’t get older people off the phone.”
Likewise, there is a particular measure of engagement which correlates closely with the percentage of retirees in the group: our “power user rate.” This is the percentage of users who, having completed the quiz for whatever incentive is offered (if any), decide to play it a second time -- and yet literally none of our customers offer an incentive for replays.
(2) Retirees love trivia, but not technology
As compared to every single nationally syndicated daily entertainment show, Jeopardy has the second-highest average age (64.2), seventeen years higher than the average, and trailing only Wheel of Fortune (65). Since the average age of Quizzify’s quiz-writers is also 64.2 (n=1), we know how to write trivia questions for this population. For example, some of our questions allude to pop culture, to increase the entertainment value of the questions. We know which allusions they will recognize from their youth (like the one above) and which they won’t.
The flip side: we recognize that many 64.2-year-olds face the same technical challenges that this 64.2-year-old faces. Consider our questions for the doctor that you can put in your Apple Wallet. We don’t just say: “Download these questions for the doctor into your Apple Wallet.” Even though the download is a one-touch process, we follow that question with a question focused on exactly what an Apple Wallet is, where on your screen you can find it, and how to use it.
(3) People over 65 use more health care
Yes, you knew that. And just for the record, so did we. But it is worth giving the key stat: the >65 population, though 16% of the population, accounts for 36% of the spending. Using the HCUP database to subtract spending related to birth events, the share jumps to roughly 43%.
You are writing the checks for most of this 43%, meaning members face very little economic pain when they demand inappropriate healthcare. Fortunately, there are plenty of other reasons not to overconsume healthcare. It just requires teaching people that “just because it’s healthcare doesn’t mean it’s good for you.”
And there is plenty of healthcare fitting that description. America is the most overtested, overdiagnosed, overtreated, and overmedicated society ever, with the >65 cohort leading the pack in a "cascade" of "low-value" healthcare spending, according to a recent JAMA study.
(4) Savings actually matter
On the commercial side of the health plan, the key attribute of a vendored solution is salability, because the more employers buy, the more money you make. Hence, you must get the employer to perceive savings, real or imagined.
Extra bonus points if the vendor can be paid as a claim. That way it won’t affect an employer’s administrative expenses, which typically receive more scrutiny than the medical spending itself. Vendors now advertise this feature, recognizing they can charge much more if their services are a medical rather than an admin expense.
By contrast, Medicare lives are generally fully insured. And while being classified as a medical expense is helpful, the goal in Medicare Advantage is to manage overall costs, not just the smaller administrative slice. Quizzify can be financed using the Medicare code for patient education, but is more efficient as an administrative expense.
(5) Members are retained on an individual basis
A Medicare member is far more profitable than a commercially insured member (but you knew that), with each member being worth over $1600 in gross profit. The members most likely to disenroll are those who engage the least with you. Quizzify can go at risk for member engagement, leading to more retention. Or even member retention itself.
(6) Stars have teeth
In Medicare, Stars have teeth. Increasing your Stars rating requires increasing your rating in many domains. We hit member experience (Domain 3) straight on. Indeed, for low utilizers who are also Jeopardy fans, we may be most of the member experience. Further, we can direct our questions towards specific categories in Domains #1 and #2. We have a storehouse of questions relevant to diabetes, for example. And ask us about our “special sauce” for increasing your colon screening rating (C02)…without the expense of a colonoscopy.
