The Insider
February 2009
Issue 3
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
president's |
product spotlight |
partner spotlight |
tips and tricks |
so we heard |
healthconnect |
your opinion |
click on the icons above to read that section or just scroll down
Dear HealthConnect User
We often hear from our health broker clients that they have to manage their client and agency information in multiple systems. They use HealthConnect for quoting, HR and enrollment, but for commission tracking and agency management they use one or more systems from other vendors, Excel or even a filing cabinet. Also, a lot of our clients work in agencies with both health and P&C insurance lines and they are often required to use an agency management and commission system designed for P&C brokers. This often does not address issues specific to health and creates a lot of inefficiency and frustration.
In response, we decided to add agency management and commission tracking functionality to HealthConnect, so our system can be a single source for agents for managing their entire agency, rather than a “point” solution for quoting and HR. After extensive research and client feedback, we are pleased to announce that we expect a full rollout of the agency management and commission tracking system over the course of 2009.
In addition to the release of agency management and commission tracking functionality, we have an aggressive plan for additional product development in 2009, including the following:
-
Complete overhaul of the reports on HealthConnect, including new reports, such as our recently released multi-option report, enhanced HRA illustration report, and a variety of other functionality;
-
Release of our multi-carrier enrollment system in additional markets, including New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, where employers and employees can log into HRConnect and automatically fill out applications and where any information input automatically populates the agency management and commission system, ensuring complete, legible applications;
-
Overhaul of the look, feel, flow and navigation of HRConnect;
-
Combination of our California quoting system with our national HealthConnect platform, providing all clients one single system for quoting in all available markets; and
-
Continued rapid geographic build out of our individual/family quoting system, with expansion to six new states by the end of the year.
On behalf of the entire HealthConnect team, thanks to all HealthConnect clients and we look forward to working with you in 2009!
Sincerely,
Peter Everett
President/CEO
HealthConnect Systems
president's message
The Product Spotlight section, which will regularly highlight one of our products in more detail, will also enable us to keep you updated on new products and new features of our existing products.
What does health insurance market intelligence and HealthConnect have in common? CarrierConnect.
CarrierConnect is a groundbreaking tool offering medical carriers unique reports by capturing and repurposing the information processed on HealthConnect quoting portal*.
The information is organized into areas of Market Intelligence, Rate Analysis, Network Analysis, and Marketing. With CarrierConnect, carriers can identify most quoted plans, most popular drug cards, product trends and market shifts, run comparative rates and rate trends for thousands of plans, as well as run disruption reports and receive provider information - all in a matter of seconds.
To showcase the power of CarrierConnect, we have collected data for the most popular deductible options in 2008 for the states of California, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York. You can view the data here.
* To maintain confidentiality, HealthConnect only reports collective broker activity. HealthConnect does not, under any circumstances, disclose specific broker or group information. To preserve strict confidentiality, we only provide aggregated, anonymous quoting data to carriers. For example, a carrier can see which of their plans is most frequently quoted by our entire agency client base, but they cannot see which agents quoted those plans or to which groups they were quoted.
Partner Spotlight will regularly focus on one of our partners whose services we make available to you through our quoting system and HRConnect.
HealthConnect prides itself on offering our clients one single solution for all their needs. To further empower health insurance brokers and HR managers, we have partnered with a leading provider of voluntary benefits. You, the broker, will receive commission for voluntary benefits that you sell through our vendor.
Voluntary benefits, offered through the employer-sponsored plan but paid entirely by employees,
fall under several categories, such as medical (hospital confinement, accident insurance), income protection (disability insurance), catastrophic illness and retirement.
Voluntary benefits:
- Fill a gap in the health benefits coverage of the company (and appear as another benefit);
- Save administrative time;
- Provide tax savings for employers and employees; and
- Increase employee's spendable income because employees obtain discounted rates through their employer.
Employers are provided with access to an online administrative tool that enables them to search employees' coverage type and coverage effective dates and allows them to submit changes online.
To make it easy for employees, our voluntary benefits partner's representatives meet with each employee individually to review their existing coverage, needs and options prior to selecting their policy.
To learn more about providing this service to your clients, please contact our sales team at sales@healthconnectsystems.com.
Having trouble using a feature in the quoting system or HRConnect? Tips and Tricks section will provide you with a quick "how to."
Not sure how to run a multi-option report* from your small group quoting portal?
Follow these simple steps.
For CT:
-
Follow the regular steps for quoting a small group. When selecting health plans, make sure that you select at least two plans for each carrier that you would like to include in your quote for comparison.
-
On the report generation page,
check Multi Choice Plan
Assignment box under
Health Benefits Reports heading. Then click Next.
-
You will now have to select the number of health plan options you would like to show to your client from the drop-down box on the left. Please note that the first time you run the report, only one column will display as a default.
-
Once you select the number of options, the screen will refresh and display the number of columns corresponding to the number of options you selected. if you select four options, four columns will display - Option 1 Plan, Option 2 Plan, Option 3 Plan and Option 4 Plan.
-
Now select the appropriate health plan for each employee. Depending on the number of plans the company has, each column will have two or three different plans for each selected carrier. If most of your group employees are on the same plan, simply click on ‘Apply First Employee Option to All’ link that appears above the option heading and the Option 1 Plan column will be populated with the same plan. Then manually select the plan for employees on a different plan.
-
You can preview the report by clicking the Preview Report button on the bottom.
-
Clicking on the Next button will generate a report that will automatically open up in a new window and will also display as a link under the Existing Documents heading. You can now email or fax the report to your client. This is what your report will look like.
For NY/NJ/PA:
-
Follow the regular steps for quoting a small group. When selecting health plans, make sure that you select at least two plans for each carrier that you would like to include in your quote for comparison.
-
On the report generation page, check Multi Choice Plan Assignment box under Health Benefits Reports heading. Then click Next.
-
You will now have to select the number of options and number of health plans per each option. Please note that the first time you run the report, only one option will display as a default. Census summary will display on the right.
-
Once you select the number of options, the screen will refresh and display the number of rows corresponding to the number of options you selected. If you select three options, three sections will display - Option 1, Option 2 and Option 3.
-
Now assign all employees to each plan; categories are automatically populated for you. The Total number displayed at the end of each Option should total the number of employees in the census.
-
You can also preview the report by clicking the Preview Report button on the bottom.
-
Clicking on the Next button will generate a report that will automatically open up in a new window and will also display as a link under the Existing Documents heading. You can now email or fax the report to your client. This is what your report will look like.
For West Coast:
-
Follow the regular steps for quoting a small group.
-
On the Proposal Options page, select Multi Option. The section will automatically expand.
-
Select the plans from each carrier that the employer is offering to the employees.
-
Click on Assign Plans button to assign the selected plans to employees. Here you can create up to nine options (three per page). Each option will consist of multiple plans from the same carrier.
-
To assign specific plans to each employee, select the plans from the drop-down menu under each Option, then click Next.
-
If you want to include current/renewal plans on the report check the current/renewal box and preview the report.
-
To create the proposal, click on Create Proposal button.
-
On the Email proposal page, you will be able to view and/or print the report or email it directly to your client. This is what your report will look like.
*Please note this report does not account for underwriting guidelines. Please contact your representative for rules regarding participation
and underwriting specifics.
Want to know what your fellow brokers are saying about our products and how they helped them? Read it here, in the So We Heard section.
From our client Nancy Mozes, Information Technology Manager, at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey on the branded IFP portal:
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey has partnered with HealthConnect Systems for several years now, enabling our brokers to utilize the latest technology to make it easier to do business with us.
This year we expanded our relationship to include online quoting and enrollment for our Individual and Family plans, allowing consumers to browse and choose the right plan for their needs on Horizon BCBSNJ's website. We could not have done it without the help of an extraordinary support team and a great partnership with HealthConnect.
HealthConnect in the News section will keep you up-to-date on our new developments, partnerships or changes and will include our reference in the media.
healthconnect
in the news
|
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and HealthConnect Systems Make Purchasing Health Insurance Easier for Individuals and Families
January 28, 2009 –
Individuals and families now have an option to purchase their health
insurance from New Jersey’s largest health insurer, Horizon Blue Cross
Blue Shield of New Jersey (Horizon BCBSNJ) online at
www.HorizonBlue.com. This online quoting portal is a partnership
between Horizon BCBSNJ and HealthConnect Systems, an online network
for buyers and sellers of health insurance and employee benefits. Only
one month after its release, the portal has already gained significant
adoption among consumers.
|
Your opinion counts! This section will feature a quarterly poll to find out your opinion on our products, enhancements, announcements, tips and our communication to you so we can continue to improve.
your opinion
|
Last month, we asked whether you used our Individual and Family Plan system and what you thought of it. Click here for results. Thank you to everyone who voted. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thank you for your feedback!
Copyright ©2009 HealthConnect 877.805.2828 | newsletter@healthconnectsystems.com
|
50 Washington St., Suite 1112 Norwalk, CT 06854 |
1300 E. Shaw Ave., Suite 109 Fresno, CA 93710 |
1461 Lakeland Ave., Suite 2
Bohemia, NY 11716 |
2555 E. Colorado Blvd., Suite 202 Pasadena, CA 91107 |