Trustmark to Offer Ceridian`s COBRA Administration Service to Groups

October 2000
Trustmark to Offer Ceridian’s COBRA Administration
Service to Groups
• Save your clients money due to lower
claims costs.
CobraServ allows you to leverage their
expertise to open doors to new group
prospects, many of whom may be out
of compliance with some aspect of
COBRA. When you demonstrate their
need for help, they’ll see the value of
this unique service.
s a value-added service to Group
insurance clients with 20 or
more lives, beginning Jan. 1, 2001,
Trustmark will offer Ceridian Benefit
Services’ CobraServ COBRA administration service. This helpful feature
will assist your clients in fulfilling their
obligations to individuals who continue coverage under the Consolidated
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act
(COBRA).
A
According to Ceridian, nine out of 10
employers are unable to document and
comply with the complexities and rigor
demanded by COBRA. Court cases
and settlements have cost employers
millions of dollars and recently released
final regulations complicate matters
further. CobraServ offers a solution for
insurers and employers who face significant administrative, legal and financial
burdens in light of these regulations.
Under COBRA, an employee or qualified dependent who loses health care
coverage under an employer’s health
care plan due to a qualifying event has
the right to continue coverage at his or
her own expense for a period between
18 and 36 months. Since the enactment of COBRA, and subsequent
legislative amendments and interpretations by various court cases, the IRS
had offered only proposed guidance on
how to interpret and administer the
law. But in January 2000, final regulations went into effect. The addition
of CobraServ as a value-added benefit
of doing business with Trustmark will
help to:
• Increase sales because Trustmark
will offer this service free to all fully
insured groups with 20 or more
covered lives. The service will be
optional for Administrative Service
Only (ASO) groups.
• Simplify COBRA for your clients
and lessen their administrative
burden.
• Potentially reduce legal liability for
your clients by bringing them into
COBRA compliance.
Additionally, Trustmark will be making
Ceridian’s Section 125 administration
services available to its groups as well.
Section 125 of the Internal Revenue
Code allows employers and employees
to pay for unpaid medical expenses
with pre-tax dollars through a Flexible
Spending Account or Premium Only
Plan. Ceridian, which offers three
Section 125 solutions, will make sure
your clients’ plans comply with IRS
regulations through proper documentation, summary plan descriptions,
reporting, discrimination testing and
filings.
Ceridian Benefit Services is a division
of Ceridian Corp., a Minneapolis-based
company that provides benefits administration, retirement planning and
human resource management services
to the business community through
health insurance carriers. CobraServ
is the oldest and largest independent
COBRA compliance service center in
the nation, serving more than 30,000
employers nationwide.
For more information about
CobraServ, contact your Trustmark
sales representative.
Important News About ACE
The Automated Customer Enrollment system,
or ACE, has been up and
running for nearly three
years. Since its debut
online in January 1998,
more than 800 groups have signed on
to use this free service.
ACE allows group administrators to
make real-time changes to their electronic eligibility files at Trustmark via
the Internet. With ACE, employers
can also conduct alphabetical name
searches; initiate sample bills; receive
final monthly bills by e-mail on predefined billing dates; make premium
payments automatically via withdrawals
from the group account; and summarize
their payment and billing history for
a 12-month period. Without ACE,
eligibility changes could take a seven
to 10 days for mailing and processing.
Recently, some misconceptions have surfaced about ACE’s capabilities,
such as:
• The ACE system can’t make
changes. ACE can handle name
changes and most employee class changes.
• Only one person per group can use
ACE. With ACE, groups can have
as many users as they want, providing
each person has his or her own
password and user I.D.
• ACE works only with a Netscape
browser and requires a digital
certificate. ACE is optimized to be
used with Netscape but it can be used
with any browser and no longer requires
a digital certificate.
• ACE won’t accept payroll or department codes. Groups who use payroll
or department codes to classify
employees can use ACE. However,
those codes cannot be used to custom
divide a bill.
• Groups with multiple divisions can
not receive bills via ACE. ACE can
be used to send electronic bills out to
groups as long as they specify to whom
the bill will go. This can be only one
person. If the group has more than
one division, ACE can route a bill to
one contact person at each location.
If your clients have questions about
how to use the ACE system, please
contact your Trustmark representative.
Also, ask your clients who haven’t tried
ACE to give it a try via the ACE Internet demo by entering the web address:
<www.trustmarkinsurance.com/acedemo>.
Trustmark Enhances
Lifetime Maximum
Benefit
Trustmark will raise the lifetime
maximum benefit for OpenAccess
and PPO plans to $5 million for innetwork charges, effective January
1, 2001, upon state approval.
Previously, the lifetime maximum
for medical expenses \was $2 million, in- and out-of-network. The
lifetime maximum will remain at
$2 million for Indemnity Plan and
out-of network OpenAccess and
PPO expenses. Contact your
Trustmark Representative for state
availability of the $5 million lifetime
maximum benefit.
With evidence of good health, full
reinstatement will be considered
once an insured has reached the
lifetime maximum. At the beginning of the next calendar year, a
person’s lifetime maximum will
be automatically reinstated up to
the lesser of the amount of claims
paid, or $2,000. Coverage will terminate when the amount paid on
behalf of an insured person equals
the maximum amount.
Funding Arrangements Available From Trustmark
Trustmark offers a wide range of flexible funding options to suit the specific
needs or budgets of groups large and
small. The following alternate funding
arrangements are available.
Funding Plans for Groups of 51
or More Covered Medical Lives
Minimum Premium
Minimum Premium combines the security of conventionally funded health
insurance with many of the advantages
associated with self-funding. The plan
allows financially qualified clients to
fund their own claims, significantly
reduce premium taxes, and enjoy
the security of a plan fully backed
by Trustmark.
Flex Plan Plus (ASO and Stop Loss)
For some employers, complete selffunding may be a more cost-effective
approach than conventional plans
or other alternate funding options.
Trustmark offers an Administrative
Services Only (ASO) arrangement
to handle the administrative needs
of a self-funded plan, and a stop loss
arrangement to limit the risk for large
individual or total claims. With the
ASO plan, groups save money with
reduced expenses and enjoy the cash
flow advantage of funding claims
as they occur. Specific Stop Loss is
required with Flex Plan Plus.
Funding Plans for Groups of
100+ Covered Medical Lives
Experience Rating Agreement
Experience rating is a process of determining the premium rate for a group
risk based wholly or partially on the
group’s actual experience. A fully
insured contract is in place and
Trustmark agrees to return unused premium to the group. Unused premium is
collected premium that exceeds the sum
of claims paid, needed claim reserves,
expenses, taxes and other government
obligations. Trustmark’s Experience
Rating agreement also may be available
on a Retrospective Premium basis.
“The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness;
and third, common sense.”
– Thomas Edison
Beat Prospects’ Skepticism and Doubt
Salespeople often face rejection, for
reasons clear and sometimes hidden.
But often prospects may reject your
product or service on the following
basis:
• Skepticism—they’re not
convinced that your product
or service can deliver the
benefits you claim. Your
Strategy: Offer a statement of proof.
Cite a reference or piece of information that proves the benefit in question. Your tactics might include
explanations, testimonials, statistics,
others’ success stories, data from
research studies, magazine and
newspaper articles, professional
journals, brochures and other print
materials. Begin your statement
of proof by saying something like,
“Mr. Prospect, I can understand
why you’d be interested in ...”
Administrative Services Only (ASO)
Under an ASO arrangement, Trustmark
administers an employer’s self-funded
plan for a fee, giving the employer the
advantage of retaining and controlling
outstanding claim reserves for investment purposes. There are also additional
cost savings because self-funded benefit
programs generally are not subject to
state premium tax or state mandated
benefits.
Stop Loss—Aggregate and Specific
Trustmark’s stop loss insurance products
limit the risks of self-funding. Specific
Stop Loss limits the financial risk of medical costs paid on behalf of any one individual, excluding prescription drug card
benefits, and Aggregate Stop Loss offers
protection against higher than expected
claims accumulated by the group as a
whole. Specific Stop Loss applies only
Let me further explain how we ...”
“We’ve done some research on the
subject of ...” or “You may be interested in hearing what we’ve done
with ...”
• Indifference—they don’t
see any need for your product
or service. That can be awkward and difficult to handle.
Your Strategy: Keep the conversation alive—but be careful about
seeming “pushy.” Key phrases
include: “I see; it might be of no
interest ...” “I understand; you
don’t need ...” and “OK; that
doesn’t seem to be an important
area for you.” Follow up with a
general benefit statement: “On the
other hand, several of the cost-saving
features of this benefit plan might
be worth a second glance. Can we
talk about some alternatives?”
to medical plans (excluding prescription
drug card benefits). Aggregate Stop
Loss generally applies to medical
(including prescription drug card
benefits) and dental coverage.
Minimum Premium for Large Groups
Trustmark offers a number of flexible
options for large employers which can
be used to further limit and refine their
liability, including individual pooling
levels, aggregate claims pooling, terminal
benefit limit, premium guarantee and
terminal reserve funds guarantee
option, deficit recovery limit protection,
deferred deficit recovery, surplus position carryover and banking arrangements. Financially qualified clients
have the opportunity to hold claim
reserves and to significantly reduce
premium taxes, while having the security
of a plan fully insured by Trustmark.
• Misunderstandings—they
don’t have all the information
they need to make a positive
buying decision. Your
Strategy: First, probe to confirm
needs. Then make a supportive
statement that acknowledges those
needs and introduce the appropriate
benefits to satisfy them. Example:
“What you’re saying, then, is that
saving time is important to you and
that you need a quick response
when problems arise.” When the
prospect confirms your probe, reply
“That’s understandable. Many of
our customers feel the same. That’s
why we set up team of crackerjack
customer service representatives to
respond to our customers’ needs.”
—adapted from Contemporary Sales Force
Management by Tony Carter as seen in The
Competitive Advantage
PHCS Directories Now
Available on CD ROM
and Disks
If your clients need PHCS directories, please inform them
that the directories are now available on CD ROM and
diskettes. Previously available in hard copy only, the switch
to an electronic format will give groups the freedom to
print their own directories or store the information on their
own computer networks.
Sales offices will be able to download the directories from
Trustmark’s intranet for clients requesting directories in
an electronic format. The size of the directory and the
number of directories needed will determine whether a
diskette or CD ROM is dispensed. If a client requests a
directory that is too large for a diskette, the sales office
will place an order for a CD ROM.
By making the directories available to groups in this
format, groups can receive the directories on a more
timely basis.
Presorted
Standard
US Postage
Paid
List & Letters
400 Field Drive
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
www.trustmarkinsurance.com/group
Inside this Issue of
Trustmark to Offer COBRA Administration to Groups
Group Producer
Funding Arrangements Available Through Trustmark
Beating Prospects Skepticism
Outlook...
Beating Tough Objections
Many prospects raise objections too soon—they anticipate not liking what they’re about to hear. So, many
salespeople answer objections too soon—and get so
sidetracked from their presentations that they’re unable
to smoothly return to where they left off. Suggestion:
Try to persuade prospects to listen to enough of your
presentation to be able to say “Yes” or “No.” Use
transition phrases such as these to move forward
without discounting the objection:
“Well, I understand that ...”
“I know what you mean ...”
“I respect that. That’s why ...”
—adapted from Reach Out and Sell Someone by Gary S.
Goodman as seen in The Competitive Advantage
We Want to Hear From You.
If you have any story ideas,
please contact Beth Boerman at
[email protected].
REGIONAL OFFICES
Lake Forest
(Home Office)
1-800-621-4784
John Rowlette,
Regional Sales Director
[email protected]
Bruce Tirakian,
Regional Manager
(Central Illinois)
[email protected]
Dennis Walsh,
Regional Manager
(Northern Illinois)
[email protected]
Atlanta
Ruth Szabo,
Regional Manager
1-800-745-3162
[email protected]
Columbus
Jeff Wintersteller,
Regional Manager
1-800-601-0808
[email protected]
Dallas
Gary Behrhorst,
Sr. Regional Manager
1-800-887-5567
[email protected]
Grand Rapids
Terry McDonough,
Regional Manager
1-800-886-9642
[email protected]
Philadelphia
Jim O’Connor,
Regional Manager
1-800-492-2234
[email protected]
Houston
Brent Schultz,
Sr. Account Executive
1-800-704-1603
[email protected]
Phoenix
Dave Houser,
Regional Manager
1-800-227-9642
[email protected]
Indianapolis
Tom Luddy,
Regional Manager
1-800-345-0555
[email protected]
St. Louis
Jon Niblock,
Regional Manager
1-800-482-2234
[email protected]
Kansas City
Jim Walter,
Regional Manager
1-800-407-2345
[email protected]
South Bend
Mike Balsan,
Regional Manager
1-800-501-2235
[email protected]
Milwaukee
Dean Hoffman,
Regional Manager
1-800-967-8766
[email protected]
New Orleans
Allen Saba,
Sr. Regional Manager
1-800-397-5336
[email protected]