Pregnant and Empowered: Why Trust is the Latest Form of Member Engagement

By: Susan Torroella, CEO, ProgenyHealth?

Recently published in MedCityNews on November 7, 2024. ??

The maternity journey is a path paved with uncertainty. From the moment those two pink lines appear, a mom-to-be faces more questions than answers—and has to quickly identify trusted resources that will mean the best prenatal, delivery, and postnatal care for herself and her baby.?

Prior to pregnancy, many expecting members have likely not engaged with the healthcare system much, if at all, and are diving headfirst into a realm of the unknown. That’s where a health plan can step in.?

Helping to alleviate this uncertainty should be a top priority for payers. In the sections that follow, I’ll outline three ways that health plans can engage, connect with, and delight their pregnant members to nurture goodwill, earn long-term trust, and foster loyal relationships that last. These relationships—built on trust—result in more informed interventions and are the foundation upon which better outcomes are made.??

#1: Show Every Member That You Care??

Together, communications that contextualize and personalize show members that you care.??

While static emails and care reminders can prove helpful touchpoints, the maternity journey is emotionally, physically, and financially complex—and presents plans with a unique moment to engage with members on a deeper level. Successful programs hinge on the right timing, messaging, and strategy.?

Contextualization ensures that your plan’s communications are always relevant, up-to-date, and useful. A communication that engages members and proves helpful in one phase, could be considered immaterial—or—worse in another. Consider a note that says ‘congratulations on your big news’ and invites members to research nearby providers. That messaging and call-to-action will be invaluable in the early days to help moms-to-be identify local, in-network, and high-quality providers, but would quickly feel out-of-place and irrelevant as the first trimester progresses—or thoughtless and insensitive if the pregnancy ends in miscarriage.??

The best solutions analyze patterns within the data to proactively identify and address issues based on contextual information, such as content the member is engaging with. In the best of cases, contextualization is the subtle background work that ensures all outreach is directly related to an event trigger, anticipated member need, or relevant situation.??

Personalization goes a step further by demonstrating that these contextualized communications consider their specific medical history, situation, and needs. Stray from a one-size-fits-all approach, as it will feel cookie-cutter. Consider deploying a variety of communication types to uncover preferences, such as personalized phone calls from empathetic case managers, or emails that ask questions before sharing educational information. Outreach that reflects a willingness to listen and engage on their level helps instill a deeper level of trust built on a feeling of being seen on an individual level.?

#2: Remain Reliable and Consistent?

During this time of great change for your members, seize the opportunity to act as a consistent and reliable resource.??

Health plans that build out a high-touch, high-tech model of care can help ensure a continued source of help and support that leaves members knowing where to turn whenever a question, issue, or challenge arises. Ideally, plans will develop a communication series framework that acts as a baseline by covering common pregnancy questions and celebrates milestones across all “four” trimesters.??

To start, regular communications establish a baseline that builds trust from the very beginning. Consistent touchpoints, such as weekly emails or app-based texts, can build anticipation and prove reliability, while sharing valuable educational or engagement information that guides next-best actions, prenatal care tips, and more. These messages can go a long way to building trust by sharing information at critical juncture points, such as: the best questions to ask at the 12-week appointment, and what to expect with a glucose tolerance test, to the top five tips for reducing breast inflammation during the early days of breastfeeding a newborn.?

To ensure these communications resonate with all members, it is important to build cultural competency as a cornerstone of any program. Case managers with a diverse set of spoken languages, backgrounds, and lived experiences will help ensure all members feel comfortable, confident, and supported.???

#3: Actions Speak Louder Than Words?

When it truly counts, pivot away from outbound communication in favor of action.??

Throughout the maternity journey, case managers connect with moms-to-be to act as trusted advocates, uncover needs, and offer educational and emotional support. From conducting regular outreach to ensure that new moms are able to make it to postpartum check-ups, to ongoing mental health screenings that monitor for changes in behavior, plans can play a very real role in proactively identifying needs and connecting members with the care they need, from prenatal care to delivery recovery, postpartum mental health, lactation support and more.??

At critical junctures, case managers should be empowered to intervene in real-time—with resources that help solve for social determinants of health (SDOH), address gaps in care, or help connect members with resources, community-based organizations, and providers that address critical health challenges facing mom or baby. While many case management programs document challenges and tell members they will circle back, those that proactively help solve issues while remaining on the line with the member builds immediate trust. These members know they can rely on their health plan and that should the need arise, they can call back any time–-and they will see results.??

Ideally, case managers manage and maintain relationships with members across their entire prenatal and postpartum journey. For instance, early on, a case manager can begin to ascertain barriers to care, such as transportation security. If a member lacks a car or reliable access to safe public transit, plans can step in by offering subsidized rides to and from appointments—ensuring consistent prenatal care and a higher likelihood of favorable outcomes. These same case managers would know to pre-book a ride to ensure these new moms do not miss their critical six-week postpartum check-up. This feeling of being supported in moments that matter deepens trust, driving ongoing, sustained engagement, and encourages members to return time and again whenever an issue arises.??

The Key to Member Engagement?

Earning member trust is always hard—but the maternity journey offers a unique opportunity to demonstrate care and engage in moments that truly matter. As your pregnant members grow new life, help your outreach take on a life of its own with consistent communications that demonstrate interest, reliability, and most importantly—a truly member-first, human-centric approach.??

The best way to engage with and earn trust with your members? Join them in their journey, from those first two pink lines on the test strip through to those sleepless nights and beyond. Commiserate, delight in, and celebrate this tumultuous and exciting time. Precious trust will follow.?

Additional Resources???

• Five Keys to Successful Member Engagement

Events

• Our team recently attended the Texas Association of Health Plans Texas Covered conference in the beginning of November. Mary Villa, MS, RD, Matt McCredie, and Christa (Meyers) Proefrock were the ProgenyHealth experts onsite talking about our comprehensive maternal and infant health solution!

Before You Go?

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