BCBS medicare

I led the redesign of the Medicare Plan Finder tool for Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBS NC), helping the organization address a critical retention gap as members aged into Medicare. Only 27% of members were continuing with BCBS once eligible—largely due to poor UX and a lack of personalized engagement. My role was to reframe the entire experience around the user’s journey and emotional context, while aligning internal teams around a shared design strategy. The result was a more human, accessible, and trustworthy experience that has since influenced the broader BCBS digital ecosystem.

• Increase retention of members transitioning to Medicare at age 65 • Deliver a personalized plan recommendation based on existing member data • Make the process accessible, trustworthy, and emotionally supportive • Improve internal alignment across design, engineering, and business teams

• Members aged 65 were treated like new users—asked to re-enter data, and shown generic plan options • The digital experience lacked visual warmth and emotional intelligence • Accessibility and usability were misaligned with older users’ expectations • Internal team silos created friction in scaling research-backed design approaches

User Research I conducted both in-person and remote usability testing with Medicare-eligible members between ages 60-68, gathering insights on pain points, expectations, and emotional responses throughout the enrollment journey. Experience Design • Introduced strategic pauses in the UX flow (such as thoughtfully designed loading and thank you pages) to build trust and confidence • Developed low-stress comparison tools and plan cards that prominently featured preferred providers and pharmacies • Created a clean, high-accessibility visual system with simplified content through improved typography, layout, and navigation • Shifted tone from clinical to conversational, making the experience feel more human and familiar Cross-Team Collaboration I synthesized research insights to guide agile iteration and foster stakeholder alignment, breaking down silos between design, development, and business teams to create a unified approach.

The redesigned Medicare Plan Finder transformed the experience : Personalization Leveraged existing member data to pre-populate forms and provide tailored plan recommendations based on current providers, prescriptions, and usage patterns. Accessibility Implemented high-contrast interfaces, clear typography, intuitive navigation, and straightforward language optimized for older users and those with vision impairments. Emotional Intelligence Incorporated reassuring messaging, progress indicators, and moments of delight to address anxiety and build confidence throughout the decision-making process. Results • 33% Increase Enrollment • 106% Increase Awareness • BCBS adopted the Plan Finder design approach as a model for other tools and customer flows