Customer self-service up and running.

Online Premium Billing

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care services about 800,000 members with health-maintenance-organization, preferred-provider-organization, point-of-service and Medicare plans. In addition to its members, its customers include corporate benefits administrators, third-party administrators and insurance brokers.

In 2001, as part of a broader corporate business initiative, the company introduced a new capability called HPHC Connect, a suite of online self-service capabilities created to make administering health care easier for employers, providers, brokers and members. One specific feature, online premium billing, allows its employer customers a way to view, manage and pay their premium invoices online via a secure Internet connection. Customer response has been overwhelmingly positive as employers have identified significant saving opportunities from being able to gain greater control over the accuracy of their monthly premium invoices and viewing and paying their bills online. Participating employers have commented that the online billing capability is "faster and easier to use, with less room for errors" than traditional paper invoices. In addition, Harvard Pilgrim has seen a dramatic improvement in its available cash on hand--from 47 days to 80 days.

"Making Great Health Care a Little Easier" is a registered trademark of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.

Online Explanation of Benefits

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is the largest health plan based in Minnesota, covering more than 2.6 million members in the state and nationally through its health plans or plans administered by affiliated companies.

Customer self-service is a critical component of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota's business strategy. After seeing increasing demand from its group-employer customers for more online account management and customer self-service capabilities, the insurer set out to offer a variety of online services. One specific request heard often at renewal time from employer customers was to provide members with online access to their explanation-of-benefits forms. By replacing paper forms with anytime/anywhere online access, the insurer not only has met a critical customer need, it also has the opportunity to realize significant cost and operational savings in printing, mailing and postage. Further out, the carrier is looking to leverage customer self-service to improve the explanation-of-benefits content with personalized messaging about wellness, disease management and even potential prescription copayment savings.

Real-Time Premium Billing and Reconciliation

Back in 1999, one of the largest insurers in the United States, serving more than five million members, began to implement a broad e-business strategy that included online customer care. One part of this wide-ranging effort included group billing and payment. Up to that point, customers could view their monthly invoice on a computer screen, but not interact with it. The insurer's large and small employer customers wanted more dynamic Web-enabled billing and payment capabilities. In an effort to meet this demand, and to streamline its own billing operations, the insurer deployed a self-service solution allowing employer groups to quickly and easily submit subscriber terminations online, receive immediate adjustments on invoices and make payments at the click of a button. Since deploying these capabilities, the insurer has seen a significant drop in retroactive premium adjustments and a large increase in the percentage of inbound customer service inquiries being handled through self-service instead of its call center.