Mobile phones and digital tablets
The health plan participant user experience has improved over the past year as health insurers have accelerated their investments in mobile apps to keep pace with expectations set by retail and banking apps, according to Corporate Insight’s 2025 Health Plan Experience Benchmarks report.
The survey showed commercial health plan mobile apps are closing the digital experience gap with desktop websites. The average mobile score rose from 57 to 63 points out of 100, while desktop scores improved from 67 to 70 points. This highlights that mobile apps are on a faster pace of advancement, said CI.
"Health insurers are finally treating mobile as a primary channel rather than an afterthought," said Lauren Roncevic, senior director of health care research at CI. "Plans that don't accelerate their mobile investments today risk significantly falling behind their more digitally mature competitors."
The most important feature users want in a mobile health plan app is coverage and benefit details, with 83% of survey participants choosing this option. Eighty-two percent valued having a customer service phone number readily available on the app, while 80% wanted access to their member ID card information. Seventy-eight percent of those surveyed wanted to be able to refill, request or transfer prescriptions from the app and the same percentage indicated they wanted to be able to search for a provider.
The report suggested the mobile gains reflect strategic investments in personalization, pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) integration and AI-powered chat capabilities that members increasingly expect.
Most insurers improved their mobile app scores, with improvements driven by three categories – profile and settings, prescription and pharmacy, and support.
The top scorer on CI’s mobile performance leaderboard is Anthem BCBS with a score of 79, followed by UnitedHealthcare and Aetna, which surged nine points to tie with Wellmark for third place.
"Aetna's jump shows how quickly organizations can advance when they prioritize mobile," noted Roncevic. "They've significantly strengthened their competitive position in just one year."
Desktop experience also improved, with leading insurers focused on support as well as prescriptions and pharmacy features. This mirrors mobile's focus areas and suggests coordinated investment across channels, said CI.
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