Delta Dental Case Study #2
Modernizing the Waiting Period Waiver Experience – Defining features to be considered in its digital transformation.
Project name: Waiting Periods Attestation Form
Context
Modernize the Request for a Waiting Period Waiver.
“What if Members could make their own requests to waive their waiting period to begin services online?”
Delta Dental’s manual and Member-initiated process for requesting a waiting period waiver is managed through the Call Center, is outdated, and incurs unnecessary costs.
Simultaneously, two junior researchers needed expert review methodology training.
Research Inquiry
Business Problems
- Members do not understand why a waiting period is enforced when transitioning from an employer-sponsored plan to an individual plan.
- Waiting period requests are Member-initiated; in other words, the Member must call to make the request.
- Waiting period waivers are specialty requests that require 2nd-tier support, resulting in a higher cost for handling these cases.
- The attestation form mailed to the Member is confusing, increasing the call volume.
Research Request:
- Review and make recommendations to improve the waiting period attestation form – short-term goal.
- Provide suggestions on digital transformation for digital attestation experience – needed for proposal of long-term solution.
My Role & Contributions
Sr. UX Researcher & Research Lead. Rather than conduct the research myself, I designed this as a mentorship opportunity to build team capability while delivering business value.
Expected Outcome
The Expert Review outlined improvements to the existing form and provided a detailed description of the digital transformation.
Business Impact
Digitizing the Waiting Period Request Waiver Experience
Additional Value Add
- Accurate description of the user’s experience for their long-term phase proposal.
- Confidence to create a Product Requirement Document (PRD) for the form (short-term) and the Portal platform (long-term).
- Organizational performance – Improved change mgt.