Closing Colorectal Cancer Screening Gaps: A Case Study

Reaching the Unreachable: How One National Health Plan Cracked the Code on Colorectal Cancer Screening

For health plans, the "non-engager" population is a persistent hurdle in closing Colorectal Cancer Screening (COL) care gaps. Despite the availability of both in person and at home screening options, many members ignore traditional outreach, leading to stagnant HEDIS performance and missed opportunities for early detection. Given that over 90% of colorectal cancer cases are preventable if caught early, overcoming behavioral inertia is a critical lever for both saving lives and improving a plan's competitive advantage in the market.

To address this, a national health plan partnered with Ash to launch a tech-enabled, white-labeled outreach campaign targeting 6,000 of their most resistant members. By shifting away from a one size fits all approach and toward a strategy rooted in utility and brand trust, the initiative moved the needle where previous efforts had failed. Beyond just kit returns, the initiative uncovered a wealth of engagement insights regarding member data quality and the necessity of at-home medical testing as a physical touchpoint for care coordination. 

Read the full case study to see how the partnership transformed a 0% engagement rate into a scalable model for preventive care, and learn how to implement this replicable framework for your own colorectal cancer screening and gap-closure programs.

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