Success Speaks: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Talks Meeting Member Demands in Healthcare

When looking for a payments success story in the world of healthcare, you’d be wise to turn your attention to the Great Lakes and the work done by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBS MI). In a recent webinar with AHIP (America’s Health Insurance Plans) and ACI, Faran Farooqi, Strategic Capability Implementation and Operations for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, shared his insights into how his organization addressed the challenges of today to deliver a great payments experience for their members.
The Health Insurance Payments Landscape
BCBS MI was facing challenges that almost all insurers face: how to satisfy a wide array of members, including Medicaid and Medicare patients, while also meeting a new host of challenges presented by the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
This was pushed even further by a surprising “competitor” of sorts. “We had very limited payment functions and ways members could engage us in comparison to the online experience a typical retail member has today, for example with Amazon.com,” said Farooqi. “It was a really big transition for us to explore member options to help bridge that experience they were accustomed to.”
Driving Member Satisfaction with Payments
Is it fair to compare the likes of Amazon to health insurers? Maybe not, but consumers are doing it daily, forcing all companies to re-examine their billing and payment processes. It had become clear to Farooqi that meeting member expectations meant delivering an experience on par with that of a top eCommerce business. This is a lesson that all health insurance providers should immediately begin taking to heart.
Why? Because when it comes to member satisfaction, billing and payments has proven to raise member satisfaction by 25%.*
The bad news is that health plan members report that the member experience did not improve over the past year. Just as troubling is the news that more than 40% of members report their health plan did not provide a good payments experience in customer service, communication, premiums, rates and fees.* This can be blamed on many things, including complacency, but as Farooqi explained, consumer expectations have shifted dramatically thanks to the payment experiences offered by top companies like Amazon.
The good news is that BCBS MI provides invaluable lessons on how healthcare insurance providers can adapt and win in this new payments ecosystem.
Favorite Ways to Pay
So what are the payment options that members are clamoring for? Here are a few you should consider.
Mobile
In today’s world, mobile is king. The ability to quickly and easily pay bills or receive messages from a device that’s seemingly always (literally) at our sides is extremely powerful. This type of convenience most closely mirrors that of eCommerce, providing an experience consumers love and expect from all industries.
Mobile billing and payment options also heighten the impact of other conveniences, such as consolidated billing and tailored messaging. Imagine receiving your dental and medical bill in one statement, then receiving a text notification that the bill is either due or has been paid. You think members might like never having to pay a late fee? We bet your bottom line would love these increased collections as well.
Recurring Payments
Set it and forget it. Five words that can mean an increase in collected revenue and satisfaction. Recurring payment options, especially recurring card payments, are in high demand and it’s easy to see why. Paying bills without physically having to remember them or click a button (or three) ensures members will always pay on time.
For health insurers, offering recurring payments that include debit card, credit card and ACH payments provides a hands-off experience that gives consumers the power to choose their favorite ways to pay.
Real-Time Payments
According to Lipis Advisors, real-time payments in healthcare will grow at more than 100% CAGR from 2018-2022. We’ve made the case for real-time payments before but it bears repeating. Members' ability to pay in real time keeps their accounts balanced and ensures they won’t suffer bounced checks or overdraft fees. There’s also the added bonus of delivering refunds or reimbursements to members in real time, which will always be a crowd pleaser.
The switch to real-time payments is a matter of when, not if. Insurance providers looking to gain an edge will be wise to begin their journey to real-time payments ASAP.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Builds Payments Success
So how did BCBS MI achieve their goals? First, they gathered all the stakeholders, including ACI, to create the best business case possible. “Being able to engage with both the ACI team on site and the folks that were on the phone really helped propel us in the right direction.”
With the teams aligned, it was time to get to work. “When ACI came in, they really showed us there are various ways of thinking about this (payments),” said Farooqi. “It was really brilliant how the ACI technical resources and our sales support team were all in sync in helping us craft a solution and a roadmap.”
BCBS MI first introduced guest credit and debit card payments, allowing members to pay without the burden of creating an account. With this improvement came a decrease in calls to the call center, reducing this cost for the organization.
They also optimized their bill presentment experience. Farooqi was quick to mention that by adopting the retailer mindset, the team was able to create an omni-channel platform that really took advantage of a variety of touchpoints. Not only does this improve the effectiveness of the communications, it delivers a personalized experience for members.
By the end of this undertaking, BCBS MI had gone from 8 payment options to more than 31. But most importantly, the ROI showed immediate benefits.
“Our internal investment was paid off in 10 months.”
Farooqi already has his sights set on the future, with strategies to implement payment options through alternative payment providers including Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Apple Pay.
Build Your Strategy Today
With the 2019 enrollment season quickly approaching, the time is now to begin re-examining your billing and payment processes and start building your strategy to increase member satisfaction. Contact us to schedule a consultation with an ACI payments expert who can help you expand your offerings and enrollments.
To learn more, view the on-demand webinar.
*Third party survey of ACI clients. Forrester Research, Inc. “The US Health Insurance Customer Experience Index, 2017”, September 27, 2017.
Related Blog Posts
Utilities: It’s Time to Put Your Arrears Behind You
As the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic left many utilities customers financially insecure and unable to pay their bills, states across the country issued unprecedented moratoriums on utility shutoffs. But, as the pandemic continues, many states are beginning to lift those moratoriums, leaving customers responsible for paying back the $40+ billion in debt they owe to their utilities billers.
How to Resolve Delayed Mail Issues with Digital Payments
In light of the pandemic, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has been facing its own crisis. In late December 2020, only 38 percent of non-local first-class mail arrived on time, compared with 92 percent during the same time period in 2019. While mail delays may be considered a minor inconvenience for some consumers who receive late-arriving packages, there can be serious implications for those who rely on traditional mail to receive and pay their bills each month.
Data Security Is Table Stakes for Bill Payment – Communication Can Be the Competitive Differentiator
More than 80 percent of consumers are at least somewhat concerned about online identity theft, and nearly half are concerned about the safety of their personal information when paying online, according to the latest ACI Speedpay Pulse. But, despite these concerns, consumers have embraced the convenience that digital technology brings to their daily lives. Fortunately, these new digital experiences have been positive and are driving consumer confidence in data security: nearly half of those surveyed believe their data is safer than it was five years ago.
Billing Experts Predict Consumers Will Be Driving Force Behind Payments Industry Changes in 2021
As we near the end of 2020, the pandemic and its resulting economic fallout continue to wreak havoc: COVID-19 cases are increasing, raising concerns about an economic recession and instilling uncertainty among consumers about their financial security. In fact, 15 percent of consumers who responded to a recent ACI Speedpay Pulse survey reported that the pandemic was a direct factor in missing a bill payment. And of those consumers who currently have past-due payments, more than a third believe it will take them at least six months to catch up on late bills.
Customer Experience: A Key Ingredient for Biller Success
Today’s consumers are looking for fast and seamless experiences across the board, including when it comes to making bill payments. Understandably, slow and inconvenient experiences lead to lost loyalty and likely attrition – especially with consumers paying up to 10 bills per month, according to recent findings from the ACI Speedpay Pulse.
Filling the Gaps: How Higher Ed Institutions Can Put Money Back into Their Budgets
At a time when budgets at colleges and universities are tighter than a snare drum, where can schools turn to find the funds for their finance and IT departments? Sure, donors and alums may be tempting sources, but one answer to this funding issue is actually quite simple:
How Billers Can Adapt to a Changing Payments Security Landscape
More and more consumers are adopting digital channels like websites and mobile apps to pay their bills; but at the same time, hackers are becoming more sophisticated and cyberattacks are increasing in frequency. In fact, nearly 20 percent of consumers have fallen victim to online identity theft, according to our most recent ACI Speedpay Pulse, pointing to an opportunity for billers to up the ante when it comes to security measures.
Cut Your Losses – It’s Time to Digitize Medical Loss Ratio Rebate Payments
The deadline to issue medical loss ratio (MLR) rebates for 2020 is next week, yet many health insurers are meeting the requirement by sending paper checks in the mail. Meanwhile, only seven percent of health care premium payments are paid by check, according to the 2020 ACI Speedpay Pulse survey on billing and payment preferences. Policyholders receiving these checks may not understand why they are receiving them – if they even open the envelope in the first place.
Recurring Success: Exploring Subscription Payment Trends
When you think of recurring monthly expenses, there are certain obvious bills that come to mind: mortgage or rent, utilities and phone bill, among others. But today, monthly recurring expenses increasingly include things like online streaming services (music and entertainment), meal kits, pet treats, video games and clothing. It seems there’s a subscription service for everything these days — and consumers are taking full advantage.
Age Matters: Generational Preferences in Bill Payments
Digitalization has taken the mainstage in the payments industry due to changing consumer preferences and now, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, necessity. According to the 2020 ACI Speedpay Pulse report, one in four consumers has increased their usage of the biller’s website to pay bills, while one in five has decreased the number of payments they send by mail or make in person at a physical location. In addition, more consumers prefer digital statements (48.2%) to paper statements (25%), while around a quarter prefer to receive both digital and paper (26.8%).