As it relates to services that it provides to carriers (“Carrier Services”), the Dedicated Services Division (“DSD”) does exactly what the name implies – it trains and manages licensed agents who provide enrollment services for a specific carrier only. In other words, the DSD dedicates agents to that carrier, as if they were employed by that carrier itself.
Connect One Health created the DSD in January 2020, when a regional carrier engaged it to staff and operate a 40-seat call center. The DSD operated that call center 12 hours per day, 7 days per week, working with beneficiaries to enroll them in the carrier’s Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare Supplement products. Since that time, the DSD has expanded the outsourced Carrier Services it offers, which services currently include:
Enrollment Services for Medicare Advantage Plans, Medicare Supplement Plans, and Prescription Drug Plans. The DSD works directly with carriers to develop an approved Enrollment Services plan for each enrollment period during the Medicare calendar. The DSD Team then trains and manages its licensed agents to execute the plan. The Enrollment Services also include daily reporting of call dispositions and Key Performance Metrics.
Inbound Customer Service. Some carriers require outsourced assistance for both Enrollment Services and Customer Service functions. On the latter, the DSD Team works with carriers to understand their Customer Service needs, deficiencies, and/or “wants,” and to develop carrier-approved Customer Service plans for the provision of such services. The DSD Team then trains and manages a separate group of licensed agents or employees (depending on the requirements of the carrier) to staff the carrier’s Customer Service department.
Outbound Customer Service. Most carriers have an internal Customer Service team that handles typical inbound calls from Members about the carrier’s services. There are other times, however, when the carrier wants or needs to initiate an outbound call program that requires licensed agents or individuals more familiar with the Medicare system. Examples of such outbound projects include “welcome” campaigns for new Members or “thank you” campaigns for renewing Members, where the carrier may want to utilize licensed agents, who can discuss the specifics of benefits with the Members.
Development of Call Disposition Metrics. DSD agents disposition every inbound and outbound call that they take or make on behalf of a carrier, which disposition represents a general description of the call. Some carriers want to pursue a more detailed understanding of their Members’ preferences, call volume, call patterns, etc., which may require more specific dispositions. In this regard, the DSD Team has worked with carriers to develop call disposition metrics to give them better insight into their Members’ views and preferences regarding their Medicare product offerings; to assist carriers in understanding the specific reasons potential Members declined to enroll in one or more of their products; and to assist carriers in evaluating the effectiveness of their Interactive Voice Response (“IVR”) systems.
Management Consulting Services. The DSD Team’s primary function is to hire, train and manage individuals who are outsourced to a carrier, to provide Enrollment Services or perform Customer Service functions. However, the DSD Team has also been asked to evaluate carriers’ internal enrollment teams and/or customer service teams, to identify deficiencies, areas for improvement, and/or to determine whether outsourcing those services is the more cost-effective model.
If you are interested in exploring how Connect One’s Dedicated Services Division can help your business, please contact Connect One’s Chief Executive Officer, John C. Barnoski on LinkedIn, or by email at jbarnoski@connectonehealth.com.
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