Blue Cross & Blue Shield United of Wisconsin Offers Online Sales to Individuals.Business Editors MILWAUKEE, Wis adv. 1. Certainly; really; indeed. v. t. 1. To think; to suppose; to imagine; - used chiefly in the first person sing. present tense, I wis. See the Note under Ywis. .--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 2, 2001 Blue Cross & Blue Shield Blue Shield A US not-for-profit health care insurer that is a reimbursement intermediary for physicians. Cf Blue Cross. United of Wisconsin has expanded its fast and convenient online sales of health insurance to individuals and their families. The Personal Choice Plan, which provides coverage to individuals 18-65 years of age and their families, can now be purchased at bluecrosswisconsin.com. Blue Cross & Blue Shield United of Wisconsin, an affiliate of United Wisconsin Services, has been selling insurance online to employer groups employer group Association of employers Managed care An entity with a current group benefits agreement in effect with a health plan to provide covered health care services to its employee-subscribers and eligible dependents. ranging in size from 2 to 99 since October, 2000. "It is our goal to provide a simple, convenient, accessible online system for individuals to buy health insurance," Cathy Harvey, senior vice president of marketing for United Wisconsin Services, Inc., said. "With the bluecrosswisconsin.com site, individuals can obtain a quote and complete an online application in about 10 minutes." "The Personal Choice Plan is ideal for college students, individuals who do not receive coverage from their current employer, and self-employed individuals," Keith Bell, Internet Team Manager, said. "In the near future, we plan to offer online sales of two other individual health insurance products - our Value Plus Medicare Supplement Plan and the Temp Plan, which offers temporary coverage to individuals 18 to 65 and their families." A three-step process must be followed to complete an online sales transaction, Bell said. First, an individual fills out a brief online questionnaire to determine eligibility and provide details of the type of coverage required, including number of dependents. The individual immediately receives a preliminary quote and has the option to proceed to the application stage. Once the online application is completed, it is transmitted to the Internet Team for review. The applicant will receive an e-mail notification that the application has been approved or denied within 48 business hours BUSINESS HOURS. The time of the day during which business is transacted. In respect to the time of presentment and demand of bills and notes, business hours generally range through the whole day down to the hours of rest in the evening, except when the paper is payable it a bank or by a . Written confirmation also will be mailed to the applicant. The customized application for individual online sales was designed by ChannelPoint, Inc., based in Westminster, Colo. The firm worked with the Blue Cross & Blue Shield Internet Team to develop and test the software. The site has been designed with security features to prevent the unauthorized release of, or access to, personal information that may be submitted via the Internet. Web site security is being audited by Ernst & Young, LLP LLP - Lower Layer Protocol . As a further security precaution, the first payment for an individual plan purchased online must be made via credit card. This allows Blue Cross & Blue Shield to verify that the address listed on the application for coverage matches the address on file with the credit card company. Like all Blue Cross and CompcareBlue members, anyone enrolled in an individual plan can take advantage of the online customer service component of the Web site. Available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the secure customer service module allows subscribers to view their personal claims status, deductible That which may be taken away or subtracted. In taxation, an item that may be subtracted from gross income or adjusted gross income in determining taxable income (e.g., interest expenses, charitable contributions, certain taxes). and out-of-pocket amounts, hospital inpatient inpatient /in·pa·tient/ (in´pa-shent) a patient who comes to a hospital or other health care facility for diagnosis or treatment that requires an overnight stay. in·pa·tient n. and outpatient authorization status, eligibility, and other health insurance such as coverage through a spouse. They can also request a new ID card and access benefit booklets benefit booklet, n a booklet or pamphlet provided to the subscriber that contains a general explanation of the benefits and related provisions of the dental benefits program. Also known as a summary plan description. . Enrollees have the option of calling and speaking directly to a customer service representative during normal business hours for assistance with all of the services available online. Unlike most health insurer Web sites, the Blue Cross & Blue Shield United of Wisconsin Internet Team offers a source of human contact for those who apply online for an individual health plan, Bell said. Team members include sales, customer service and underwriting Underwriting 1. The process by which investment bankers raise investment capital from investors on behalf of corporations and governments that are issuing securities (both equity and debt). 2. The process of issuing insurance policies. professionals who are dedicated solely to administering Internet-generated sales and customer service. "If someone has questions about the online sales or customer service process, our team is just an e-mail or a phone call away," Bell said. Blue Cross & Blue Shield United of Wisconsin is the state's largest health insurer. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Blue Cross offers a flexible product portfolio with a broad range of options for small, medium and large groups, as well as individual plans for people who don't have access to group coverage. The Blue Cross Internet address There are two kinds of addresses that are widely used on the Internet. One is a person's e-mail address, and the other is the address of a Web site, which is known as a URL. Following is an explanation of Internet e-mail addresses only. For more on URLs, see URL and Internet domain name. is www.bluecrosswisconsin.com ChannelPoint is a leading provider of Internet-based, business-to-business solutions that enable e-commerce in the $2.8 trillion global insurance industry. The company's software applications and professional service offerings are designed to meet the evolving needs of carriers, distributors and buyers of insurance. ChannelPoint's technologies leverage the power of the Internet to streamline and automate To turn a set of manual steps into an operation that goes by itself. See automation. the insurance distribution process to facilitate end-to-end transaction processing Updating the appropriate database records as soon as a transaction (order, payment, etc.) is entered into the computer. It may also imply that confirmations are sent at the same time. Transaction processing systems are the backbone of an organization because they update constantly. . The company's proprietary exchange platform technology facilitates the creation of e-markets that bring together buyers and sellers of insurance products. ChannelPoint is headquartered in Westminster, Colorado The City of Westminster is a Home Rule Municipality located in Adams County and Jefferson County of the State of Colorado, United States. Westminster is a northwest suburb of Denver. . For more information, visit www.channelpoint.com |
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