Effective notifications are an integral part of a claims status tool. Concise, clear, actionable, and timely notifications keep claimants informed about the progress and status of their claims. Ultimately, notifications can translate your business logic and internal processes into words and actions that claimants can easily understand and follow. 

How to create a good notifications system

A good notifications system will proactively let the claimant know when either of the following scenarios happens:    

  1. A major event has occurred regarding the claim – the application has been received, a decision has been made, or a payment has been stopped.
    • The notices should set clear expectations for the claimant about what happens next.
  2. Any time there is a new action required of the claimant.
    • This could be a reminder to complete a weekly certification, a notification that additional documents are required for them to upload, and so on.

It is important that notifications be timely and in the claimants' communication channel of choice. In any scenario, empathy is crucial to crafting effective notifications that induce claimants to take action without adding stress or worries to their daily routines. Similarly, the tone of notifications should respond to the claimant's needs and the next steps they should take.  

Consistent with federal law, you must also ensure that you are carefully designing notification systems such that information presented in those systems is as accessible to people with disabilities as other individuals. Additionally, you will need to take reasonable steps to provide meaningful access to information for Limited English Proficient (LEP) individuals. Everyone using your claims status tool should be effectively informed about and able to participate in the claims process. 

Claims status trackers often use multiple notification channels to share updates with the claimants, including:

The language and instructions around a particular status or issue should be consistent whether a claimant reads a notice received via mail, checks a status update in the online portal, or asks a contact center agent for more information over the phone. Staff trainings can help increase clear and consistent communications with claimants; however, we must acknowledge that not all claimant inquiries can have a scripted response.

Content alignment is critical for effective notifications. Claimant confusion can happen even if the information in different channels is technically equivalent, but the terminology is different. Contradictory information can exacerbate confusion and erode the claimant’s trust in the system, resulting in additional calls to the contact center for clarification.

Check out 'Communicate with claimants in an accessible way' for additional information and resources.

Recommendations

System

  • Evaluate the role notifications play in your existing approaches to communicating claims status.
  • Consider opportunities for improving existing notifications or introducing new notifications.
  • Factor in notifications as part of a prioritization framework when determining where to start if you don’t have a claims status tracker.
  • During your technical discovery, learn about the system of record’s push notification capabilities to gauge technical feasibility.
  • If automating notifications in your system is challenging, and you are looking to make shorter-term improvements, consider leveraging mass text messaging for common statuses.

Notifications

  • Introduce proactive notifications to inform claimants about changes to their claim, pending and upcoming submissions, or deadlines.
  • Inform claimants when a claim has been denied. Claimants must know when and where to look for the determination so that they can timely appeal or request reconsideration.
  • Provide claimants with multiple channels to receive government communications and notifications based on their preferences and access needs.

Key questions

  • Which notifications are required and which notifications are good to have?
  • Should you consider adding or combining some notifications to improve the claimant experience?
  • Are all notifications written in plain language?
  • Does the notification system ensure that communications with individuals with disabilities are as effective as communications with others?
  • Does the notification system ensure meaningful access for LEP individuals? For instance, are appropriate translations provided?
  • Do notifications offer clear and actionable information, including deadlines and next steps, to help claimants understand the status of their claim and navigate the UI system?
  • Can claimants choose their preferred channel to receive UI notifications?
  • Can you incorporate push notifications into your system of record?

Interested in addressing claims status? Email the UI Modernization Team

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