Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC, Kansas City, Mo.) has built a personalized private insurance exchange for its large group clients with help from Charlston, S.C.-based Benefitfocus. The exchange will open early next year.
Benefitfocus supplied a retail platform that supports defined contribution as well as a number of different health plan options, allowing employer groups and their employees to shop for benefits in a marketplace setting.
"Launching this private exchange is key in our goal to provide employers with a better way to manage employee benefits and adapt to the changing healthcare market," explains Danette Wilson, Blue KC Group Executive External Operations and Chief Marketing Executive, in a statement. "Employers are looking for defined contribution support and consumer-centric solutions that are both cost-effective and user-friendly."
The platform's shopping workflow integrates with Blue KC's existing online enrollment and billing solutions, which are also provided by Benefitfocus. Employers are able to enforce business rules, creating a pre-filtered, micro marketplace that allows employees to only see the plans for which they are eligible, according to a statement. A personal shopping cart displays employer allocated funds and tracks the employee's out-of-pocket costs while employees shop for coverage.
The exchange is accessible on any web-enabled device and also features decision support tools, questionnaires, informative videos, animation, integrated claims information and ability to personalize expected plan usage and estimate costs.
