Benefit management system and method

Abstract

A benefit management system and method provides a portal-based information management and collaborative business process application. Preferably, the system and method is focused at the benefit broker / consultant and is configured to capture employee benefit management data, such as demographic data and plan data. Further, preferably, one or more users are provided with customized user access to the centralized application for use in performing one or more various benefit plan management functions, such as, for example, marketing, plan design; enrollment; administration; and communication between one or more application users.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60 / 342,634, entitled “BENEFIT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD,” filed 20 Dec. 2001, wherein such document is incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates generally to the management of employee benefits. More particularly, the present invention pertains to systems and methods for managing and / or controlling the delivery of employee benefits.[0003]In the United States, an enormous number of individuals participate in an employment-based benefit program that, at a minimum, consists of health insurance. For example, health and welfare benefits may cost $4,000 to $5,000 per employee per year. In aggregate, employee benefits are a very large market, and even larger if retirement-related benefits are included. A large amount of economic resources is spent every year on benefit procurement and administration.[0004]An emplo...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012]The present invention provides an efficient and low cost benefit delivery and management system and method. Preferably, it is a portal-based information management and collaborative business process application that empowers the benefit industry to electronically design, market, purchase and / or administer benefits, thereby replacing the paper-driven processes that currently plague the benefit supply chain. This transformation will drive large-scale productivity gains resulting in administrative expense reductions, lower product pricing, reduced human error, and / or vastly improve customer choice and satisfaction.

[0013]The present invention is preferably aimed at the fulcrum of the benefit supply chain, i.e., the benefit broker / consultant. It reengineers the benefit broker / consultant's business processes with a dynamic, integrated, interactive and personalized application that will manage their customer and benefit provider relationships on a mass scale. The present invention captures the essential employer and employee benefit information in a seamless, transparent, integrated, automated and customizable format, giving the user total access to and control of various key benefit plan management functions, such as: marketing, enrollment, administration and communication.

[0014]Advantageous use of the present invention by benefit broker / consultants is not dependent on, nor does it require, participation by benefit providers. However, benefit provider participation may enhance operational efficiencies. The present invention can be used to shift daily plan administrative responsibility from the benefit provider to other benefit supply chain participants. Benefit providers may no longer be required to manually load, enter, or maintain benefit plan data. The present invention is preferably able to automate the time-consuming, labor intensive, paper-driven plan processes such as request for proposals (RFP) responses, installation and enrollment, eligibility verification, premium remittance, commission accounting and licensing. The substantial cost savings associated with these administrative reductions provide incentive for benefit providers to participate. Furthermore, the present invention may give benefit providers real-time access to market and demographic business information through intelligent capturing of customer transactional data from their sales channel (e.g., the benefit broker / consultant).

[0017]The present invention delivers an immediate value to the benefit broker / consultant. Preferably, it automates and streamlines day-to-day business processes resulting in, preferably, a paperless working environment. As a business enterprise platform, the present invention preferably performs both as an intranet and an extranet. For example, it may not just provide an application portal that a benefit broker / consultant will visit occasionally to expedite their sales cycle, but rather may preferably provide their own image-branded portal that provides a total, end-to-end services solution, or at least a portion thereof. It empowers the benefit broker / consultant with image branding, customization, and portal personalization tools to use internally and to private label with their employer / clients and benefit providers.

[0019]The present invention provides one or more various functions. For example, along with various other functionality as shall be described in detail herein, employee self service (ESS) benefit functionality is included. Further, for example, benefit broker / consultants may own their own data. In addition, the present invention provides robust data reporting and knowledge sharing functionality, and further is designed to be HIPAA compliant.

[0025]One or more methods according to the present invention may include one or more of the following features: allowing an authorized user to access the application to input demographic plan data, wherein the demographic plan data includes at least one of employer / client and employee / dependent data; generating a benefit plan request for proposal including at least one benefit plan in conjunction with demographic plan data; generating a benefit plan request for proposal calculated response based on a benefit plan request for proposal; generating, at an external benefit provider, a benefit provider request for proposal response based on a benefit plan request for proposal; allowing one or more of a benefit / broker consultant, an employer / client, an employee, and a benefit provider to access all or a limited portion of at least one of presentation panels and employee benefits management plan data (e.g., access to create, delete or modify a benefit plan and / or to create, delete or modify demographic plan data); allowing an employer / client to perform one or more employee benefit management functions (e.g., access to change demographic data associated with the benefit plan); allowing an employee, after an employer / client has adopted a benefit plan, access to at least a portion of the employee benefits management data (e.g., benefit provider plan information); maintaining the benefit plan based on changes in associated employee / dependent demographic plan data and / or providing plan change notification relating to the modification of the benefit plan; mining the employee benefits management plan data for use in generating at least one of a plurality of reports; personalized image branding one or more presentation panels used to interface with one or more of a benefit broker consultant, an employer / client, an employee, and a benefit plan provider; accessing at least one portal using at least an internet connection; providing at least one extension of the benefit broker / consultant portal as at least one satellite portal, wherein the at least one satellite portal is separately configurable by the benefit broker / consultant to extend certain rights to one or more employer / clients for access to the application portal; providing one or more child portals corresponding to the one or more employer / clients, wherein each child portal is an extension of the access extended to the respective one or more employer / clients and permits each of the one or more employer / clients to further extend access to the application to one or more additional users, wherein the one or more additional users comprise at least one employee of at least one of the one more employer / clients; and providing security authorization to control access of users to at least one of portions of the presentation panels and / or employee benefits management plan data (e.g., providing view controllable security of the one or more presentation panels such that access to view or edit the presentation panels is restricted and / or providing data security such that user access to view or edit data of one or more presentation panels is restricted).

Problems solved by technology

However, benefit provider participation may enhance operational efficiencies.

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