- Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries make up 16% of total US health expenditures, costing $495.8 billion annually. - Text messaging can effectively engage Medicaid members by providing targeted health information and reminders. Two-way texting results in much higher engagement than one-way texts. - Studies show text reminders increase vaccination and screening rates, and educational texts reduce emergency department use for non-urgent issues by 2.5 times. Interactive text messaging can help Medicaid populations improve health outcomes.

1. MEDICAID HEALTHCARE COSTS
Number of full
benefit Medicaid and
CHIP beneficiaries
72,441,849
16% of total U.S.
health expenditure
Total spend
$495.8 Billion
HOW DOES TEXT MESSAGING ACTIVATE PEOPLE TO
NEW MEMBER NAVIGATION
"They ask me what information I need”
GAPS IN CARE
“I didn’t know about flu
vaccines for my son”
Target health advice to the
people who are most at need
ED DEFLECTION
“I know how to get care when I need it”
PREVENTIVE SCREENINGS
“I want to know what I should
be doing for my health”
INCREASE LOYALTY
“My plan listens and understands what I want”
TEXT IS THE MOST POWERFUL WAY
TO REACH AND ENGAGE MEMBERS
Over 90%
own a mobile phone
Lower income demographic
texts 2x more than
higher income populations
98% of texts
are read
$
Use two-way texts to ask members what they want
to know about, then deliver relevant content
11% increase in child flu vaccinations
when parents received text reminders
With text reminders, women in economically
deprived areas are 28% more likely to attend
appointments for breast cancer screenings
Over 90% of people
reported two-way texting
about their Medicaid plan
services was valuable
Ask members about their knowledge of health services, then
target educational content to those with low awareness
www.mpulsemobile.com
Prevalence of chronic
conditions is up to
2x higher
Medicaid patients
use the ED at
2x the rate
The Medicaid population has worse health
outcomes than the general population
Find a
primary care
doctor
Learn about
the Nurse
Advice Line
Locate the
nearest
Urgent Care
Remind members about the importance
of preventive screenings and when they
should schedule an appointment
HEALTH ENGAGEMENT
“I want to do the best for my son”
Two-way texts can result in more than 5x the
engagement on health topics vs. one-way texts
Click-through rates
increase from 5%
to up to 40%
when content is
targeted to the
person
Engage through targeted text challenges,
quizzes and by text links to valuable content
such as videos and online experiences
ADOPT HEALTHY BEHAVIORS?
Educate people on how to best use health resources
People who received
educational texts on health
resources were 2.5x less
likely to use the ED if they
had a non-urgent condition
URGENT CARE
COMMUNICATE. ENGAGE. ACTIVATE.
Interactive text messaging for a healthier Medicaid population
COMMUNICATE
with simple text messaging
ENGAGE ACTIVATE
with two-way dialogue through tailored content
FOR A
HEALTHIER MEDICAID
POPULATION
CTIA.org
Data on file: mPulse mobile
Stockwell MS, et. al. JAMA. 2012 Apr 25;307(16):1702-8.
Petrie KJ et. al. Br J Health Psychol. 2012 Feb;17(1):74-84
pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/mobile-technology-fact-sheet/
medicaid.gov/Federal-Policy-Guidance/Downloads/CIB-01-16-14.pdf
medicaid.gov/medicaid-chip-program-information/by-state/california.html
gallup.com/poll/161615/preventable-chronic-conditions-plague-medicaid-population.aspx
mobilemarketingwatch.com/sms-marketing-wallops-email-with-98-open-rate-and-only-1-spam-43866/
cms.gov/research-statistics-data-and-systems/statistics-trends-and-reports/nationalhealthexpenddata/nhe-fact-sheet.html