Denise: So Ashley, will I sound like a grandparent talkin’ bout the good old days if I take a moment to reminisce about a simpler time? A time when you could go to a doctor or pick up a prescription for a simple copay, blissfully unaware of the behind-the-scenes fees and adjudicated claims? But then there we were in the staff meeting, hearing those words (gulp): “High deductible plan.” Visions of forms, receipts and – dare I say it – faxes filled my head. Does anyone use fax machines anymore?
Ashley: What’s a fax machine? Just kidding, Dee. I felt the same way – it sounded like it was going to be such a headache. But then we were told about the health reimbursement account (HRA) we’d be getting, and I started to have hope. This HRA would be managed by a local broker, Rose & Kiernan, and we’d have access to a debit card and free mobile app! Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
Denise: Okay, I admit it – I am learning to love the HRA. With a support tool like R&K’s, a central “virtual” file to house both HRA and FSA claims, outstanding receipts, payments and balances makes a confusing process much easier. Snap a picture to text or email a receipt, who’d have thunk it?
Ashley: Seriously! I’m beginning to love it, too. I was minding my own business just the other day when a little red push notification popped up on the screen of my iPhone. It was the R&K app informing me that a recent claim I had made required a receipt in order to be approved. My immediate reaction? Groan. I mean, what would that involve? But what was I reading under my list of options? I could just take a picture of the receipt with my phone and submit it through the app? But that sounded so simple! Surely it couldn’t be that easy to manage anything related to health insurance. But it could, apparently: in fewer than three minutes, I was done. Receipt located, picture taken, image submitted. Boom.
Denise: Ash, it is great that you were able to resolve that so quickly and easily. Here’s something else to know for the future: they will pay a claim directly to the provider! Just enter a bill and the vendor information and they take care of paying the balance. It will keep the provider on file for future claims, as well. While this world of healthcare transparency and layers is new to many of us, I find it ironic that broker/payer tools like this ultimately can impact a member’s satisfaction with their health plan. Insurers would be wise to facilitate access to these kinds of tools.
Ashley: I agree. And now that we do have a deductible plan, I feel that an app like the one from R&K is a “must have,” not a “nice to have.” Interestingly enough, it seems that R&K is far from alone in recognizing this new consumer need: payers and providers all over the country are getting in on the app action. As a consumer who needs and uses these apps, I’ll likely start having the same expectations of payers and providers as I do of my bank or favorite retailers – I’ll need my healthcare-related apps to be valuable, dependable and useful. Looks like they’re on the right track.
So, anyway, speaking of good old days, what do you think of ankle zipper jeans making a comeback? I bet you still have a pair…
Denise: No, I don’t. I think I got rid of them with my leg warmers. Kidding, I never actually owned leg warmers…