7 minute read
BROKERTOOLS – A SOLUTION TO HEALTHCARE INTERMEDIARIES’ CURRENT AND POST-LOCKDOWN CHALLENGES
Over the past 12 years, Brokertools has established itself as a software provider specialising in medical scheme comparison and quote generation software integrated with a CRM system. Healthcare intermediaries need technological solutions tailormade for healthcare to help them navigate through the potentially challenging times ahead.
Despite the recent easing of the COVID-19 lockdown, many of the virus-induced societal and work-related changes will continue long after the pandemic has passed. At this time of the year, healthcare intermediaries have the immediate task of informing each of their members about the available medical schemes and options for the following year, analysing their needs, providing FAIS compliant advice, collecting their option change forms, and submitting them to medical schemes. And all of this has to be done in the shadow of the still virulent virus that limits the physical interaction normally required for this purpose. At the same time, intermediaries need to continually generate new business, and reduce their expenses, in an increasingly competitive environment. Brokertools has the tools to help your business adapt to the new work environment, automate the year-end renewal process, produce FAIS compliant medical scheme comparisons instantly, generate new leads, and streamline your business processes to enhance your profitability.
The Year-End Revision Wizard
With the annual year-end revision (YER) upon us, and a limitation of physical interaction required by corporates and individuals, intermediaries need tools only technology can provide to automate the year-end revision process and reduce physical interaction with clients.
Brokertools has developed the Year-End Revision Wizard, which makes the annual YER process easy to do at the push of a button. It is fully FAIS compliant and more efficient than can be achieved with a personal consultation with an individual or a group of people.
For the past five years, the innovative Year-End Revision Wizard integrated into the Brokertools CRM has been used by brokerages to communicate with their members electronically, providing them with online scheme information and enabling them to find the best option and submit their option changes electronically. This has proved to be highly cost effective in areas where brokers have clients in outlying areas, reducing the cost of travel and, now, reducing the need for in-person consultation.
How the Year-End Revision Wizard works
• You may want to inform your clients that, due to the limitations on physical contact and travelling, you intend doing the YER in this manner and explain the process.
• The YER Wizard is part of the Brokertools CRM. Once your clients are loaded on the CRM (import EPR reports from the Schemes) – as soon as the 2021 scheme benefits information is available – it is easy to select clients, including groups, and send a link by email or SMS to each client using the bulk mail function on the CRM.
• Clients who receive your FSP branded link can simply click on it to compare their current option with the 2021 option, compare upgrade or downgrade options among the permitted schemes, and submit their option and scheme choice for 2021.
• In addition, should the client opt to also complete the needs analysis to assist with the option choice, the YER Wizard employs advanced scheme benefit intelligence to make a recommendation, using information such as:
• Budget for contributions
• Preferred in-hospital reimbursement rate
• Preferred out-of-hospital benefit structure
• Non-CDL conditions prevalent
• Member benefit importance ranking for 2021.
• Furthermore, an algorithm is applied that rates the option benefits, financial and demographic information to recommend the most benefit-rich option within the parameters set by the member in the needs analysis. The system is designed to recognise that group clients may have the ability to select between multiple schemes and that you may wish to retain individual clients on their current scheme.
• Clients who complete the option choice process receive an email with:
• A FAIS compliant PDF option change letter on your letterhead
• A statutory notice
• Record of advice
• A comparison between their current and chosen option
• An application form or option change form, depending on their choice
• Any brochure or document you selected to attach when sending out the bulk SMS/emails.
• When the final date for option changes approaches, clients who have not yet completed the YER process receive reminder emails/ SMSs with the link.
• You also receive a detailed report indicating who completed the process and what their choices were, together with links to the generated documentation. This report is then submitted to the various schemes to affect the option changes.
Medical Scheme benefit comparison and quotation software
A core element of providing FAIS compliant advice, both for the year-end review process and for prospective new members, is the ability to compare all suitable medical scheme options to enable members to make the most appropriate choice. The benefit comparison and quote tool is integrated with the Brokertools CRM, enabling the following:
• Compare any open medical scheme option, including several restricted medical schemes
• Medical scheme, gap cover and primary care comparisons
• Member needs analysis that identifies the most appropriate product given the member health profile
• FAIS compliant individual and group quotations
• Contribution calculator calculates contributions, LJPs, prorated savings and add-on savings products
• Actuarially sound Benefit Richness tool lets you unlock the value of each medical scheme option for your clients
• Intelligent Group Quotes where products are compared based on cost, benefit structure and Benefit Richness
• All quotations and supporting documentation, including emails, are stored on the Cloud, as per legislative requirements
• The CRM tool enhances efficiency in dealing with queries, records of advice, members and corporate clients, making communication and delivering on promises effortless
• Output documentation such as quotations and record of advice are customised per FSP, displaying their branding and letterhead
• Share bulk or individual communications/newsletters with corporate and individual clients
• Document repository for brochures and forms on all schemes, gap and primary care products.
Brokertools is easy to use, with intuitive navigation, a training manual, and both online and telephonic user support.
Web Needs Analysis – generating qualified leads and transforming into an online business
Digital technology is available to help transform a brokerage into an online business. Brokertools has developed the Web Needs Analysis (WNA), an interactive lead generation tool that can be used to replace physical sales. This feature can be placed on your website and social media platforms, with completed needs analyses from prospective clients sent directly to the intermediary via Brokertools CRM for follow-up consultation.
COVID-19: transforming to work smarter
More people than ever are working from home and this trend will continue long after the pandemic has passed. Using Brokertools to form the core of their consulting infrastructure, brokerages can confidently deploy employees to work remotely, having secure remote access to client data. Additionally, the CRM system contains all of the broker’s client records, queries and communication templates, enabling uninterrupted service and continued professional client relationships.
The CRM is ideal to track sales leads and queries to manage employee productivity, and also has capabilities to help streamline work processes. Many compliance-related processes are taken care of automatically by the Brokertools CRM system. However, intermediaries should continually train employees on FAIS and POPI compliance policies and procedures, to instil a compliance-centred work culture that becomes second nature.
About Brokertools
The various Brokertools applications were developed by a team with over thirty years’ experience in the healthcare intermediary sector, with team members having had in-depth exposure to the workings of both the intermediary and medical scheme environments. The system and applications were specifically designed for healthcare intermediaries with compliance in mind. FAIS, POPI, CMS and TCF regulatory requirements have been integrated into every step of the advice process.
The Brokertools software has become the industry benchmark, used by a national base of intermediaries ranging from large corporate to SMME healthcare intermediaries. Currently, approximately 45% of all principal medical scheme members in South Africa are administered by intermediaries using Brokertools.
Collectively, intermediaries using Brokertools service 2 815 057 medical scheme beneficiaries, and 467 820 queries were logged and resolved by intermediaries in the past year. A total of 377 006 FAIS compliant quotations have been done on the Brokertools system in this period.
With all the core functions that brokers perform integrated into one system, Brokertools provides a comprehensive one-stop solution, ideally suited to address compliance, the upcoming YER, and the unfolding scenarios during and after COVID-19.
The brokerage of the future will be redefining client touchpoints, using the web needs analysis, automated year-end revisions, online applications and digital platforms such as medical scheme member and employer portals. The technology will free up the broker from the administrative burden, with more time to dedicate to proper specialised advice.
In the emerging new business landscape, healthcare intermediaries embracing specialised software such as Brokertools will be optimally positioned to provide professional advice, manage their workforce productivity, and be effortlessly POPI and FAIS compliant.
You can visit the website www.brokertools.co.za for more information and to schedule a demo. Brokertools can be contacted at 012 665 3899.
