Two Health Insurers Make Mobile Enhancements

Hartford-based Aetna and Chapel Hill, N.C.-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina both unveiled new mobile capabilities today.

Aetna has enhanced its existing iTriage app, which now allows users to research their symptoms, find a medical provider, and book an appointment. The app, which Aetna acquired last year, is part of the insurer's emerging CarePass platform, which aims to let policyholders share information across applications by using a single sign-on.

"Consumer demand and technology innovations have driven dramatic changes in the way we purchase almost every item today – except health care,” Aetna president, chairman and CEO Mark Bertolini says in a statement. “iTriage puts the consumer in the center of the equation and gives them the power to make health care decisions when, where and how it’s most convenient for them. It’s a revolutionary concept that will change the way Americans shop for health care, and one that we think is long overdue.”

Meanwhile, BCBSNC opened a mobile version of its member web portal. The company worked with Orlando, Fla.-based Kony Solutions on the mobile site.

Within their mobile browser, users can:

• View claims
• See current plan benefit information
• Find a doctor
• Get estimated treatment costs
• Find the closest urgent care centers
• Find less expensive prescription drugs
• Compare and shop for individual and family under 65 plans, and
• Contact customer service

[Read why insurers are taking another look at the mobile web]

“By providing access to our most popular cost-saving tools and services via mobile devices, we are empowering BCBSNC customers and making it easier to make more informed decisions," Michael Parkerson, BCBSNC director of marketing, says in a statement.

Nathan Golia is senior editor of Insurance & Technology. He joined the publication in 2010 as associate editor and covers all aspects of the nexus between insurance and information technology, including mobility, distribution, core systems, customer interaction, and risk ... View Full Bio