4 connected strategy in the health insurance industry The different connected activities insurers can engage in can be split into information aggregation, streamlined self-service tools for customers, curated content, access to novel connected technologies, and behavior coaching. For example, health insurance companies can: • Be information aggregators for their members by providing increased cost transpar- ency in a traditionally price opaque industry or securely storing and gathering the patient’s health records in a single place members can access seamlessly, with a focus on privacy due to both regulatory constraints and customer demands. • Streamline tools for customers, enabling them to take advantage of self-service op- portunities. These tools can include offering online appointment schedulers on the health insurer’s app or interactive tools for self-diagnosis that help health insurers interface with members to access broader health services. • Provide members access to novel technologies such as telemedicine and telehealth or virtual care, needs which have been made clear by the Covid-19 pandemic. Virtual care presents an opportunity for health insurance to connect and refer members to services they can access 24/7. This is valuable especially in the case of check-ups or minor consultations that don’t require in-person visits. • Offer behavior coaching. As the U.S. healthcare system moves from a fee-per-service model towards capitated or value-based models of care, health insurers will need to be more involved in members’ health management. Since profitability will be more directly tied to health outcomes, behavior coaching connected strategies offer the opportunity to use preventative care to reduce future costs. Coaching strategies could include the use of wearables. Insurers might collect data from wearable technologies like smart watches and reward members for their physical activity, or even incentivize them to perform tasks such as walking or running. Linking data from wearables to health records could provide personalized goals, as well as broader health and well- ness goal management programs. Overall, healthcare insurers have a chance to create value in their relationships with their members through the tools outlined in this section. However, gaining their members’ trust to obtain the data needed to implement these connected strategies will likely be a gradual and lengthy process for the industry as a whole. 