What: “FSA/HSA” Estimator / Recommender tool for our Members. This tool will based on previous year/s of members ‘out of pocket’ expenses from Claims data.
Why: Allows our members to make an informed decision and save money with tax-fee benefit accounts. Guided, correct usage of these tax advantaged accounts will reduce member’s health care cost and thus contribute to our mission:To ensure all Californians have access to high-quality healthcare at an affordable price.
How: Claims data that we collect allows us to calculate ‘out of pocket’ expenses of our members. For members who are with Blue Shield for more than a year, we can use claims data coupled with elementary predictive tools to recommend whether a member should open an FSA / HSA account. Our tool will recommend optimum amount that member needs to contribute to these accounts. Our tool will also show how much money they could have saved in the past year/s if they had used an FSA/HSA account. For members who have an FSA / HSA account, we can demonstrate effectiveness, or lack of it, and whether they should increase or decrease their contributions in these accounts.
When: The calculator / tool will be available for our members during ‘renewal’ time. This will allow them to make ‘informed decisions’
Benefits:
- Save our members money by helping them take advantage of ‘tax advantaged’ accounts. Thus reducing health care out of pocket cost which aligns with our mission.
- Very simple tool to develop and implement. Assuming that we have most of claims and benefits data available, I expect the effort and cost to develop the tool to be low.
- Help us retain / renew members, as only we, as insurance carrier, can provide accurate ‘Out of pocket’ expenses based on their claims history. (Others can build FSA/HSA calculators, but having claims history and benefits information in one place allows us to do it with no input from the member. Other tools currently available, place the burden of reporting OOP expenses on members)
- Help us attract more members with a promise of helping them determine FSA / HSA contributions next renewal period.
- As insurance payer, only BSC has consolidated claims and benefits data to calculate ‘out of pocket expenses’ for members. This ‘data advantage’ makes it our responsibility to use it to help our members.
- Saving our members money may end up being a great way to 'engage' a Member thus aiding his receptivity to other wellness / health care related programs that we may offer.
- This idea has potential to become a good example of employee driven innovation, and will increase engagement and which in turn gets a closer to becoming a ‘better work place’.
- Save our members money by helping them take advantage of ‘tax advantaged’ accounts. Thus reducing health care out of pocket cost which aligns with our mission.
- Very simple tool to develop and implement. Assuming that we have most of claims and benefits data available, I expect the effort and cost to develop the tool to be low.
- Help us retain / renew members, as only we, as insurance carrier, can provide accurate ‘Out of pocket’ expenses based on their claims history. (Others can build FSA/HSA calculators, but having claims history and benefits information in one place allows us to do it with no input from the member. Other tools currently available, place the burden of reporting OOP expenses on members)
- Help us attract more members with a promise of helping them determine FSA / HSA contributions next renewal period.
- As insurance payer, only BSC has consolidated claims and benefits data to calculate ‘out of pocket expenses’ for members. This ‘data advantage’ makes it our responsibility to use it to help our members.
- Saving our members money may end up being a great way to 'engage' a Member thus aiding his receptivity to other wellness / health care related programs that we may offer.
- This idea has potential to become a good example of employee driven innovation, and will increase engagement and which in turn gets a closer to becoming a ‘better work place’.
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