Group Broker Update

Resources for Mental Health Awareness Month and beyond

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a prime opportunity for employers to promote awareness of mental health issues, positive mental health practices, and the availability of wellness resources to employees and their communities. Here are some of Blue Shield’s digital tools, services, and resources available:

• CredibleMind: A digital resource hub featuring assessments to diagnose mental health symptoms. The hub houses mental health-related resources covering 200 topics, podcasts, articles, books, and videos.
• LifeReferrals 24/7: This service provides access to confidential and professional assistance to help members better manage the demands of home, health, and career. The program includes personal counseling, and financial and legal services.
• Headspace: Members can access the world’s most science-backed meditation app through our Wellvolution platform. The app can help reduce stress, increase resilience, and help members get a better night’s rest. After 10 days with Headspace, users reduced their stress by 14%.
• Headspace Care: Used to treat mild to moderate anxiety and depression, this Wellvolution app leverages text-based chatting to provide mental health coaching, along with a self-care library and video-based therapy.

Virtual Blue turns one: delivering on a promise for high-quality, integrated care

A year after launching, our innovative new health plan Virtual Blue has shown promising results in increasing access to primary, specialty, mental and behavioral health care without sacrificing quality and choice. Virtual Blue members who used virtual care were:

• More likely to engage with primary care physician (PCP), with PCP claims increasing 31% from 2022 to 2023.
• 11% less likely to use emergency care, which can be a significantly more expensive form of care.
• Able to complete a virtual care appointment within one day of requesting it 67% of the time.
• Screened for behavioral health needs during virtual visits at a rate of 85%, promoting Virtual Blue’s holistic approach to health.

These early findings are truly encouraging and will help us continue to evolve and adapt our benefit offerings to better meet the needs of our customers and their employees.

Read more about Virtual Blue’s first year of engagement on our News Center here.

Breaking down how you use the Employer Enrollment Tool, and looking ahead

On 4/24/24, the Employer Enrollment Tool (EET) marked one year of providing digital benefits management and enrollments! We are celebrating the occasion by looking at how you’ve used the tool so far and what’s to come.

April 2020: New group enrollment launch

• 9,800+ new Small Group businesses enrolled from April 2020 to April 2024. That’s over 44,000 members enrolled and receiving care.
• 50% of enrollments go through automated installation, with member IDs arriving within the hour.
• 30,000 quotes have been created in our shop experience, showing your dedication to finding the right Blue Shield product for your clients.

April 2023: Launch of benefits management tools

• 226,000+ maintenance transactions submitted through the EET in just one year! Listed by line of business, that’s 14% of transactions for Core, 85% for Small Group, and 1% Premier.
• 99% of transactions go through automated installation, leveraging our real-time integration.

Looking ahead, minor system updates are scheduled for May 2, and Small Group renewal submissions are moving to the EET this summer. Many of the features you already use for managing benefits administration of existing groups will be used in the renewal workflow, making this system change even easier to navigate.

Upcoming disruption: We ask that you do not access the EET from 8 p.m. on Thursday May 2, to 3 a.m. on Friday May 3, PST.

Employer Connection’s redesigned look and user experience

You may notice a new look and feel to the Employer Connection homepage, matching the redesigns of Broker Connection and other Blue Shield sites. In addition, Employer Connection users will now find a more streamlined page navigation, making it easier to switch between plan & services pages, administrative resources, and forms. These are just the first of our slated enhancements to Employer Connection in 2024.

Employers are receiving this information via email. Note: These changes are for the pre-login/unauthenticated pages, while logged-in/authenticated page changes are forthcoming.

Here’s what you can look forward to in the months come with Employer Connection:

• Homepage personalization: Personalize your homepage dashboard for quick and easy access to your top tasks.
• Billing & Payment updates: View enhanced invoice status information and better manage billing address information.
• Delegate access: Experience a simpler way for primary contacts to grant and track delegate access.

We’ll share more information as new features launch, so keep an eye out!