For 20 years, ICUBA has provided affordable, high-quality benefits plans for their member organizations by pooling their purchasing power to minimize the costs of fees and commissions. Their services extend to 27 employers and over 15,000 members, and as a nonprofit healthcare cooperative, their priority is finding the best healthcare solutions for each group and participant.
Ameriflex partners with ICUBA to provide Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Reimbursement Arrangements, and COBRA plans. Through their partnership with Ameriflex, they regained the high-quality service standards they strive for by resolving pain points their organizations and participants had faced.
The Problem
In 2020 they began to face issues with their prior benefits administration services that affected each tier of their organization from top to bottom. So their broker approached our team to see if we could remedy their client’s long list of problems.
With 27 organizations under ICUBA’s umbrella offering different combinations of bundled plans, how the plans were being implemented and managed had the potential to make or break the effectiveness of the benefits for the participants. In this case, the implementation and management were producing adverse outcomes.
Some of the issues included:
• A Long six-month implementation window
• Lack of flexibility with overall administrative philosophy
• Limited plan administrator access to participant data
• A very rigid interpretation of guidelines for FSA administration
• Lengthy HRA reimbursement processing
• Difficult substantiation processes
• Poor customer service and communication
• Low satisfaction with outcomes
The Solution
Listening to what ICUBA had experienced and taking time to understand each pain point was an essential first step. It allowed Ameriflex to lay a strong foundation by designing their organization’s services to match the structure and flow of their organization as one company with 27 divisions.
“We listened to what they needed and didn’t make promises we couldn’t keep. We came together as a team to decide what we could do and did our best to deliver on those,”
said Michelle Teadt, Vice President of Sales.
Providing ICUBA access to a direct point of contact dedicated to serving their needs was also a vital element of the solution. It eliminated the noise and confusion they had experienced in the past, and maintaining a productive dialog helped to streamline the implementation process and quickly address any questions that popped up along the way.
The seamless, user-friendly employer and participant portals provided the required access and support they required. Then, in-person guidance and instruction at benefit fairs and open enrollments added the finishing touches needed to ensure participants understood their options and connected with the resources they needed to use them successfully.
Results & Benefits
“…All systems are working, so I just wanted to take a moment to thank you. Your responses are always so prompt, and we really appreciate all of your help… I’m definitely going to be singing your praises…”
Since partnering with Ameriflex, ICUBA and their member organizations have reported less noise and smoother processes, and improved service across the board. Some of the specific benefits to the transition include the following:
A shorter implementation period of
8 weeks or less
Flexibility
in plan administrator access
to participant data
Timely HRA reimbursement processing within
an average of
3-5 business days
Improved substantiation
processes with a
95% success rate
Effective support
and communication
on all levels
Satisfied
participants
“We’ve definitely seen a marked improvement in the overall experience for our team and our members…”