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Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Launches eBenefitsNow Online Enrollment Technology
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Chapel Hill, NC - August 27, 2003 - Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina has rolled out its latest technology advancement for customers with the launch of eBenefitsNow, an online enrollment system that makes it easier for employer groups – and their employees – to sign up for health coverage and make changes throughout the year.
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eBenefitsNow, developed in partnership with Benefitfocus.com, allows employer groups to use the Internet to link their payroll information directly to BCBSNC. The Web-based connection provides faster and more accurate enrollment, billing and access to benefits information.
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“Our group customers want a single place where they can retrieve, change and manage
all information on the health coverage they provide to their employees,” said John Roos, senior vice president of sales and marketing for BCBSNC. “eBenefitsNow provides this in an easy-touse format linked directly to our systems. It’s the latest example of how we’re using technology to improve service for our customers.”
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Beginning this month, groups with 26 or more employees are eligible to use eBenefitsNow. There is no cost to the employer for connection to BCBSNC for health, life and dental insurance.
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One employer group using eBenefitsNow to simplify the administration of its health benefits is VIF, a teacher exchange program based in Chapel Hill, N.C. VIF places as many as 1,800 international teachers in U.S. jobs each year and provides their health coverage and other employee benefits.
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"Keeping track of all health benefits data on teachers and staff, especially for international teachers new to this country, is a real challenge," said Avaisha Brown, VIF's benefits manager. "eBenefitsNow greatly simplifies the process and lets us do it in a way that meets our unique needs. Before, we had to fill out handwritten forms, which can be confusing. This new online system is much more accurate."
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For employees of groups using BCBSNC for health benefits, eBenefitsNow provides many advantages over the traditional paper-based system of signing up for health coverage. Employees may use the eBenefitsNow system to:
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| • | Complete their enrollment, make all subsequent changes online from anywhere and transmit the information to all parties, such as Human Resources, Payroll and BCBSNC. |
| • | View, verify and track the status of all membership and benefit changes. |
| • | View and print their benefits summary. |
| • | Read the employer's policy manual and other employment information. |
| • | Complete W-4 forms and automatic paycheck deposit forms. |
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BCBSNC began offering eBenefitsNow to employer groups in August after completing successful pilot programs with several customers in late 2002 and early 2003.
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Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is a leader in delivering innovative health care products, services and information to nearly 2.9 million members, including approximately 492,000 served on behalf of other Blue plans. The company offers its members the Blue ExtrasSM value-added programs, which provide discounts and information on a wide variety of health-related services at no additional cost. BCBSNC also offers life, dental, long-term care and disability insurance products. For 70 years, the company has served its customers by offering access to quality health care at a competitive price and has served the people of North Carolina through support of community organizations, programs and events that promote good health.
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BCBSNC's HMO and POS products have earned Excellent Accreditation from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of health care delivered to people everywhere. BCBSNC also has North Carolina's first and only NCQA accredited PPO plan - Blue OptionsSM. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Access BCBSNC online at www.bcbsnc.com.
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About Benefitfocus
Benefitfocus.com, Inc. (Benefitfocus) is a leading provider of benefits administration software and services, offering employees and employers access to all benefits and human resource information securely over the Internet. Linking this data to payroll vendors and benefit providers, Benefitfocus applications seamlessly exchange data, therefore reducing errors and costs associated with traditional paper-based forms. Benefitfocus applications are designed to make companies more efficient, cost-effective, and more focused on delivering actual benefits instead of spending time on undue paperwork.
The company is headquartered in Mount Pleasant, SC (Charleston), and has an established client base of over 8,000 corporate employers in all fifty states.
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