Learning from The Alliance Members and Partners

Our new fiscal year begins on June 1, so we’ve spent the last several months working on our strategic plan and budget. A few headlines follow.

A Time of Uncertainty

Not surprisingly, health care reform is creating uncertainty for employers, and they are looking for trusted sources of information. They also want to influence how health care evolves. Most member respondents, 74 percent, plan to continue to offer health benefits as they do today, based on their current understanding of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).

However, employers will monitor how PPACA implementation unfolds and will continually evaluate the cost-benefit trade-offs of offering health benefits. For most, this analysis will involve more than just a simple calculation of the cost of health benefits versus the cost of the penalty.

The Alliance’s Performance

When we first conducted the survey in 2007, we learned that many of our members and other business partners perceived us as a network, or a claims repricer. While we take pride in our network and claims repricing ability, these roles are not synonymous with The Alliance. We set out to broaden our service offerings, redefine our mission and clarify our brand as a cooperative of employers moving health care forward to control costs, and engage individuals in their health.

Results demonstrate that our efforts have paid off. Across all groups surveyed – members, agents and third-party administrators – overall satisfaction with The Alliance improved. There were statistically significant gains in two key indicators: “willingness to recommend” and “surety of understanding the benefits of The Alliance”. Other headlines:

• 89 percent of members now see us as a trustworthy and approachable strategic partner.
• A majority of members (65 percent) have recommended The Alliance.
• A majority of agents and consultants (66 percent) are willing to recommend The Alliance.

Additionally, our provider network and claims repricing function continue to be high priorities and members rank these as among the most important attributes of The Alliance.

Future Products

Our members have also requested that we expand to new markets and develop additional strategies to help control health care costs. We have incorporated these suggestions in to our business plan for the upcoming fiscal year.