An Excerpt From The Diary of a BenefitsGuide Broker

    

The Day Health Republic Announced The Jig Is Up

October 30, 2015

I got an email today at 4:30pm from Health Republic, a carrier who for the previous two years captured a huge chunk of the small group and individual marketplace:

 “In light of these developments, NYDFS and the NYSOH Marketplace have determined that it is in the best interest of consumers to end all Health Republic policies – both individual and small group – on November 30, 2015 so that customers can transition to new coverage after that date."

The details were vague, but the message clear, within 30 days hundreds of thousands of individuals and small groups will have to find new coverage. All of the individuals will need to find coverage for December 1, 2015 AND THEN AGAIN on January 1 2016, for Open Enrollment.

 At first I thought it was insurmountable.  How would we manage the transition of over 500 plans in two months?

When we broke it down, we realized it was two distinct business processes; essentially an early renewal conversation and then setting up a new plan with a new carrier.

 diary_benefitsguide.jpgWe quickly determined that for each of our 212 individual and 83 small group Health Republic clients  we would need to:

  •  explain the situation
  • discuss their options
  • follow up until a decision is made
  • set up the new plan with the new carrier
  • communicate with each employee about the application process
  • communicate with each employee information about:
    •  plan benefits
    • forms needed for plan administration
    • information about value added services
    • links to the provider networks
    • hints on how to search the networks
    • and more.

Within an hour of Health Republic’s announcement, our clients knew we had a strategy.  Feeling confident in our ability to handle the transition, they weren't likely to search for advice from another broker.

 Using our CRM, we created email templates so that each Account Manager could send emails to their clients. Each group Benefits Administrator received emails with important information about next steps and what to expect for follow up directly from their Account Manager. We were able to track when the email was sent to the client and if and when the client opened the email.

 Workflow Automation, Reporting and Dashboard Analytics

workflow.jpg Using our existing Renewal Review and New Plan New Carrier workflow processes, we were able to easily manage this work. The system would automatically guide us through these conversations and track our progress.  Tasks were automatically created by the system and assigned to the different people on my team based on our existing business rules.

 What would we have done without BenefitsGuide?

Imagine the complexity of the high volume of transactions and conversations when dealing with a mini-crisis like this one. 

Having a centralized system where we can efficiently manage all the work that needs to get done, not only helps us to retain our existing clients, but also helps to win new business. 

 I would love to show you how workflow automation can help you to save time and money.

 - Long Time BenefitsGuide Broker

 Click Here To See Workflow Automation In Action

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