ConnectiCare - Innovation in Customer Service
Company: ConnectiCare, Farmington, CT
Company Description: ConnectiCare has been a leading health plan in the state of Connecticut for 40 years. ConnectiCare is recognized for its extraordinary commitment to customer service, its collaboration with doctors and hospitals, and its range of health plans and services for individuals, families, businesses, and municipalities.
Nomination Category: Customer Service & Call Center Awards Achievement Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Award for Innovation in Customer Service - Other Service Industries
Nomination Title: ConnectiCare Centers
ConnectiCare is a leading health plan in the state of Connecticut. A local company for almost 40 years, ConnectiCare has a full range of products and services for businesses, municipalities, individuals and those who are Medicare-eligible. ConnectiCare leads the individual market in the state. ConnectiCare is part of the EmblemHealth family of companies.
Health Insurance is personal and complicated. People often need assistance during the most stressful and emotional times in their lives. The COVID-19 pandemic made the need for personalized service from a health plan more important than ever. ConnectiCare offers a unique, convenient way for members to get the personal support they need. We are the only health plan in Connecticut offering in-person assistance in addition to traditional customer service options. We currently have centers serving residents across the state in Farmington, Manchester, Norwalk, Shelton, and Waterbury. At each Center, our friendly associates are available to help someone find and buy the right plan, make the most of their benefits, lower their out-of-pocket-costs, find doctors, and identify helpful services that may save them time and money.
Briefly describe the nominated organization: its history and past performance (up to 200 words):
In 2019, feedback on our Centers was positive, with 95% of visitors saying they would recommend a ConnectiCare Center to a family member or friend.
Visitors are always greeted by our friendly associates; whether in-person or on the telephone. Private offices help visitors feel comfortable and safe while they work with our staff in-person. Our center associates are selected based on their ability to connect with people with empathy and understanding. Because we live and work in the same communities that we serve, our associates are familiar with our members' real-life struggles with health care. They go through extensive training that features a program called “Conversations with Heart.” This training helps our staff to optimize face-to-face conversations while gaining a member’s trust. Associates learn to move through conversations at the member’s pace. We teach our associates to hear and help in a trustworthy, knowledgeable, and caring way demonstrating empathy. We have bilingual associates who speak Spanish, Portuguese, and Korean, helping us reach people in their preferred language. We can also engage an interpreter within minutes for assistance in other languages or for someone who may be hearing impaired.
Outline the nominated achievement since July 1 2019 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):
During the coronavirus pandemic, we have continued to find innovative ways to provide our members with the support they need as they navigate these uncertain times. A program we are particularly proud of is our Peace of Mind Comfort Campaign which had ConnectiCare staff including our ConnectiCare Center service team and nurse care managers calling members who may be more vulnerable to the coronavirus due to medical conditions and age and providing critical information to help keep them safe.
Our service and clinical teams, including social workers, have strong community relationships that enhance our ability to connect members with additional resources. We were not only able to provide our members with guidance on health insurance during this critical time, but also offer help with needs that fall into the social determinants of health category. We’ve assisted with a wide variety of needs. Everything from food security, having prescription drugs delivered to people’s homes, arranging telemedicine services, to dealing with loneliness, stress and anxiety caused by the pandemic.
Our team members took as much time as the member needed, regardless of how long that turned out to be. With some members, we were the only human contact they had in a day. We were happy to be there to talk about whatever was concerning our member and offer whatever comfort we could.
We made over 25,000 calls were made to members. Feedback has been very positive with members sharing that they were pleasantly surprised by our calls and grateful.
Explain why the achievement you have highlighted is unique or significant. If possible compare the achievement to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the organization's past performance (up to 250 words):
We are the only health plan in Connecticut offering in-person assistance in addition to traditional customer service options. We currently have centers serving residents across the state in Farmington, Manchester, Norwalk, Shelton, and Waterbury. At each Center, our friendly associates are available to help someone find and buy the right plan, make the most of their benefits, lower their out-of-pocket-costs, find doctors, and identify helpful services that may save them time and money.
During the cornavirus pandemic we transitioned in-person seminars to virtual events. A few examples include working closely with dieticians to present virtual nutrition seminars, social workers to present seminars on how-to-manage holiday stress and offering virtual yoga classes for members to enjoy safely from home.
We quickly established safety guidelines, so our members can safely visit, by appointment only, during the pandemic. We’re also offering telephone appointments for anyone that prefers not visit in-person or for convenience.
ConnectiCare’s mission is to create healthier futures for our customers and communities. Our ConnectiCare centers bring that mission to life every day.
Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Included in our reference attacments are documents that highlight our virtual seminars, communication with our members during COVID-19, and our Peace of Mind program. Otherreference attachments included are images of our centers to emphasize the welcoming comfortable atmosphere we offer and our 2020 brand commercial to emphasise who we are as a company. Lastly, a document is included that shares our members feedback about their experience at ourConnectiCare Centers in 2020.
Here’s a sample of what our members say about their visits to our centers:
“My associate at the center was very prompt, knowledgeable and efficient. I recommend this company to everyone all the time. I feel very lucky to live in Connecticut and have such excellent service with my healthcare insurance needs.“
“The staff at the centers care about “you” not just about being a healthcare provider. They explain everything and make sure you understand. Thank God as I would not have been able to get coverage in 2020 without your help.”