GiftCard Partners Blog

What if there was a powerful tool that could significantly enhance Medicare member participation and satisfaction? The 14th Medicare Star Ratings, HEDIS^®, Quality & Risk event emphasizes the critical role of both member and provider engagement. This article explores the power of gift cards as incentives to boost Medicare member engagement, providing practical solutions and real-world examples to illustrate their effectiveness. 

As of January 2022 62.8% of eligible Americans have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This milestone is significant and essential to help protect the nation’s health. Unfortunately, studies show that vaccination rates for the low-income Medicaid population are lower than that of the general population.

Continually improving member engagement, care, and health outcomes are vital for the success of healthcare providers’ programs. Engaged members lead to reduced hospitalizations, readmissions, and improved Star Ratings. When members do not utilize plan benefits, miss appointments, and are unengaged, Star Ratings plummet resulting in a direct impact on the funding providers are able to receive. Low Star Ratings can also cause members to switch to higher star-scored healthcare plans.

As Medicaid and Medicare program administrators begin planning the ensuing year’s member programs, there is an increasing need to focus on member experience in order to maintain member populations and raise retention rates within provider networks.

Finding a strategy to keep Medicaid members engaged in healthy activities is not always easy. Medicaid members may have trouble with appointment attendance due to a lack of access to, or inability to pay for transportation; or, they are unable to take time off from work, which is often in arduous, blue-collar industries.