00:24 — Introductions

02:28 — Kansas City Sales Team

07:24 — Group Health Product Portfolio

11:04 — Allstate Benefits Model (Relationship with networks)

12:42 — Reference-Based Pricing & Network Options

18:00 — Reference-Based Pricing – Core Value

20:08 — Sales Reference Sheet

21:02 — Vori Health (NEW Vendor for Musculoskeletal care)

23:48 — PAPA Caregivers (NEW Benefit for backup care/assistance)

26:22 — MeMD Walmart Virtual Health

28:25 — Cancer Coach by Osara Health

29:59 — Plan Enhancements (Walmart Virtual Care, Vitality, Healthcare Bluebook)

32:34 — Online Enrollment / Activity Tracker

33:21 — Employer & Broker Portal

34:19 — Dental / Vision

35:36 — Small Group Underwriting

37:43 — Mid-Market (51+ enrolled)

39:35 — Worksite Solutions (Multi Line Discount)

Jason Powers:

It is time for another carrier product update. Tune in as we talk directly to the carriers about their new plans, any new network options they have, or which plan designs offer the most savings and learn about the tools and resources they offer to help you generate more business. Visit our website to learn about all of the carriers we quote in our carrier product update series.

Hello and welcome back to our carrier product update series. This is our Q four kickoff summit for 2023, [00:00:30] heading into the first quarter of 2024. I’m Jason Powers with Legacy Brokers and I’m here with my good friend Jack Stevens, area Vice President of Allstate Benefits. Jason,

Jack Stephens:

Thanks for having

Jason Powers:

Me. Thanks for coming back.

Jack Stephens:

I mean, it’s not Q four unless we do one of these first, right?

Jason Powers:

Right. You’ve been on more than just our Q four. You’ve been on several times to give us an update on Allstate. Let’s not waste any time. We’ll get right into it. I will say that we are a general [00:01:00] agent with Allstate, so when you quote your Allstate business through Legacy Brokers, we don’t cost you or the client anything. That’s our partnership with Allstate and we’re here to help you place more business in that direction. We’ll get started. What’s going on with Allstate? For someone who’s never sold Allstate, what do they need to know?

Jack Stephens:

Well, and it’s been busy, so part of that is what we’ll go through, and I do think that this serves as a great purpose in terms [00:01:30] of just being a Q four refresher. What I want to do is when we’ll go through this, I want to introduce our team, make sure that there’s a general understanding on where to go, because the big addition with Allstate benefits or when we combine with Allstate benefits was the additional work site options. But I never like to assume anything, especially in the fourth quarter. So I want to make sure that there’s just a general understanding of who’s who on my side with my team. We’ll do just kind of a quick snapshot with a product refresher since this is a Q four refresher. [00:02:00] Again, it’s one of those things where I’ve done it a million times and every time I talk about something, whether it’s 10 90 nines or it’s carve outs, an agent here or there will, something will get missed. They can’t remember everything, should they? And then we’ll get into the juicy stuff that’s coming down the pike, stuff that we’re either just going live with or about to go live with. And then we’ll wrap up highlights for our mid-market team, our voluntary team, and any questions?

Jason Powers:

Great. Looking forward to it. Yeah,

Jack Stephens:

So there’s my team [00:02:30] right there. So again, Hudson, most of the agents probably have a relationship or at some level seen Hudson’s name. He’s the day-to-day rep that handles everything in terms of new business quoting. And Christina is his senior customer service associate, and she’s a wiz to, in terms of install, licensing, all that stuff, a lot of the heavy lifting, some new names up there that not everybody may not have seen yet. Pat Anderson handles our mid-market and our large group space for [00:03:00] us that starts at 51, enrolled emphasis on the word enrolled. Hudson and I handle two to 50 enrolled. And then Doug Rossberg is our voluntary benefits rep for all things Kansas and ancillary sales is going to be Laura Voda. Perfect. Okay. So a good team, but it’s been growing. So yeah, just some updated stats here. And the big transition for us, and my bad joke is it doesn’t really [00:03:30] matter for Joe Schmo Roofing Company, but the nice transition to Allstate benefits was getting the am best rating up from an A, which is already great to an a plus.

So it does hold some weight within the agent broker community. So that just those additional resources, having that backing has been huge out of the gate. And that’s translated into some of the stuff that we’ll talk about in just in terms of a key product update. And we actually show up on some of the stock memos. So I think on either the next slide or shortly [00:04:00] hereafter, I wanted to include that out there. I think that when you’re talking Allstate benefits, anything in the insurance world, whether it’s a new name or a new product, anything that’s new is the hardest thing to sell. And so what happens is in the Nat Gen days when we were national general, and I’ll go through some of the timeline too. In the Nat Gen days, the name brand recognition was just very different, and that cost us some seats at some tables.

[00:04:30] But when I give everybody, where I start with the Allstate benefits transition is I tell ’em first this is not a new venture for us. So Allstate benefits was previously National General. National General was previously Assurant Health. Assurant Health was Fortis. Prior to Fortis, we were John Alden. Prior to John Alden, we were time, time. So this product itself, again, I tell everybody is what you really look at is you look at an old Assure individual product. It’s simple copays or copays, deductibles [00:05:00] or deductibles. It’s just been fitted to fit the composite rated space, but that timeline’s huge. The second piece of it is the A SS rating going to an A plus. The third piece is tangible proof on our stock memos that are now public to anybody who goes to the Allstate Investors relationship website. Looking at group health being specifically shouted out here.

And here’s a slide of it that I wanted to make sure that I included [00:05:30] for everybody. So our division falls underneath the Protection Services division. It’s a massive division. If you were to buy Traeger from Home Depot, odds are the protection on that is going to be an Allstate protection product. So we’re now a pretty good size spoke within that wheel. But to see our group health team, you’ll see it in the top right corner increase compared to the prior year quarter driven by growth in group health. That is very, very cool for me to see. I think a lot of people, maybe [00:06:00] even internally when the transition occurred, weren’t sure what was going to happen. So to see some of the stuff that we get highlighted on in terms of whether it’s a public memo that gets sent out or some of the stuff that we’ve been screaming for from a product update or from a admin standpoint to see that stuff come to fruition and to be closer to the end cycle than the start of the lifecycle is, like I said, I can’t tell you how excited we are for where we fit into it, but I use those [00:06:30] three in conjunction.

Look at the proof is in the pudding. It’s on paper in terms of our growth, the AM best rating is on paper, the timeline is on paper. That tells a much different story than an agent or a broker who might just assume that we’re just now getting into this space or we’ve been into it for two years.

Jason Powers:

Yeah. Well, and you mentioned the timeline. I mean, that timeline spans my entire career. I remember when it was Time and John Alden and Fortis and Assurance. So yeah,

Jack Stephens:

I’m a broker maybe either new to group or [00:07:00] new to Legacy or new to us. And I’m just assuming that the carrier’s only been in the space for two-ish years. I’m going to be a little bit tempered in terms of willingness to place business.

Jason Powers:

And it’s a lot of the same team too. Throughout all those years, it’s really been a lot of the same team. Hundred percent, a lot of the same marketers. A hundred

Jack Stephens:

Percent.

Jason Powers:

So then what’s going on with the portfolio itself? It’s not just

Jack Stephens:

No, no. And the portfolio. So for us on the small group side, again, it’s two to 50 enrolled emphasis [00:07:30] on level funded. We have gotten back into fully insured in three states right now. Missouri, I’m still being told, will be greenlit third quarter, which is quickly coming to an end.

Like anything, I’m sure that the fully insured notice will go out, write smack dab in the middle of fourth quarter. Any IT updates or anything like that always seems to be timed, whether it’s US or other carriers right in the middle of the fourth quarter. But yeah, emphasis [00:08:00] on the level funded piece, emphasis on the two to 50 enrolled, you’ve still got multiple T P A options with us. The bulk of my business for my market is going to be run through Allied Benefit Systems out of Chicago as the T P A and then our mid-market. We’ll go into that a little bit, but our mid-market has really been a full overhaul in the last two years. Run in run out, protection, stop-loss, only 24 twelves, 12 twelves, 12 eighteens optional, T L L. They’ve got a full suite of products [00:08:30] that if any of you are interested, I would encourage you to reach out to Pat. He does an awesome job of walking you through, like I said, the lifecycle of those products.

Jason Powers:

Yeah, yeah. We’ve worked pretty closely with Pat on some cases that are a little more sophisticated, want to do something that’s outside of the norm of a traditional level, funded being able to get more of that traditional self-funded model. A hundred percent. A hundred hundred percent for sure.

Jack Stephens:

And the big thing in terms of working with us [00:09:00] is it doesn’t ever really show up on paper until you really do it. But it’s just the flexibility. All of our options are a la carte. So I think if you were to extrapolate all of our plan options that we can quote, I think that there’s close to 90,000 now. We show about the same 12 or 15, but it gives the agent who’s working a case, it gives them the chance to really let us know what they want to see. We’ve got full network options. We’ve got in-network only options. I’ve got no network options with reference [00:09:30] base. I can change copays, deductibles out of pockets. It’s a la carte approach. Now, sometimes that flexibility can be a little bit overwhelming. So like I said, we do have some agents where they’ll want to see maybe the same 6, 8, 10 plans, whatever it might be, but it is out there if they need it. But that flexibility and really just getting in the mud with the agents is sort of where we’ve always hung our hat. We want to look for unique options. We want to work alongside them for flexible solutions, for [00:10:00] positive solutions. We want to be a positive resource

Jason Powers:

Definitely consistently. And we, we’ve seen that in our relationship with Allstate being able to work a case up, I mean work in a quote right up until the point it’s being presented to really fine tune it to put the agent in the best position possible to walk in with the solution that they need for their client.

Jack Stephens:

Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, our strategy is the agents and brokers that we’re fortunate enough to work with or our lifeblood. That’s how our engine goes. So my guys [00:10:30] are probably sick of me saying it, but we try to wrap around the GA or the agent or the broker and work around them as opposed to them having to work around us. It’s not perfect. It doesn’t always go that route, but we do a lot on the front end to build those relationships and really just build that consistency. I tell everybody, again, I don’t care if we get quoted a hundred groups a month or one because every agent’s block is a little bit different. We look for consistency month in month out, year in, year out, and build on it from there. At that point.

[00:11:00] And our model, I wanted to make sure that we at least highlight this just because if you are new to our proposals, you’re going to see the Allstate benefits name. You’re going to see Allied, you’re going to typically see a network name, whether it’s Aetna or Cigna or P H C S. You’re going to see a P B M name. So our approach is just simplicity through the program management on every single one of our proposals that you’re going to see from us. [00:11:30] The easiest way that I can describe it, Allstate benefits is the reinsurance carrier. We own the risk. That’s where we come in. All of our networks are plug and play, which is where you’re going to see potentially name like Aetna or Cigna or P H C S. And Cigna is always our P B M. It used to be C V s, but with the Aetna merger a couple of years ago, that changed that contractual relationship.

Jason Powers:

And that’s regardless of case size regardless. Correct. Which I think is critical because there are some products out there where you can only say [00:12:00] Aetna as a network if you have more than 50. With Allstate, we can do that all the way down to two,

Jack Stephens:

Two enrolled. Everything is bundled. There’s no outside piece that you have to get. You don’t have to get separate all. And again, I’ve done it a million times on the outset. It does seem like there’s a lot of stuff, but when you look at one proposal or 10, again, the math never changes. It’s just the numbers change. So it really takes one or two of those to get a feel [00:12:30] for the functionality of our proposals. And then the agents often run it. It never changes at that point. And then I did highlight with, we made the move into reference-based pricing in 2017. We started in 10 states. We’re in 48 states now, and that product’s been diversified twofold. So I want to make sure that just there’s some clarity in terms of network options. So we have those full PPOs with Aetna Signature administrators [00:13:00] or with Cigna, they’re full P P O, Cigna, local plus Cigna, open Access plus.

You’ve got P H C S. You’ve got P H C SS Advocate. So we have plenty of national network options. We also have regional network options. So Healthcare Highways in Texas, Vains in Nebraska or Indiana, you’ve got HealthLink, open Access two and three in Missouri. All of those are going to be underneath our network umbrella, for lack of a better term. We also have [00:13:30] reference-based pricing options. So the two in the middle that you’re going to see that are sort of hybrid, I’ll explain those last. Our tried and true reference base is it’s paid off a percentage of a Medicare reimbursement rate. What we have seen really in the last couple years is groups, they’ve liked the R B P rate, but maybe they’re not ready to take that full dip into the R B P world yet. So that’s where our hybrid options have come into play. The first one of those is in core values, but how we [00:14:00] indicate it’s our marketing name for that product line. So you’ve got core value access, which will give you the P H C S provider and ancillary network for primary care urgent and specialists. So again, it’s a hybrid or you’ve got core value flex, which allows you to pivot to a network midyear.

Jason Powers:

It’s kind of like try it for a few months. If you correct, correct, something goes wrong, there’s too much noise or it’s not smooth enough for you, [00:14:30] you can opt back to full P P O at that point. Right.

Jack Stephens:

And so for my office, reference-based pricing, a blend of either access Flex or true core value, it’s about 24, 20 5% of new business. So it’s still a good clip, but by and large, we’re still selling network the majority of the time anyways. Yeah,

Jason Powers:

It’s funny, I think there’s certain markets where R V P

Jack Stephens:

And groups

Jason Powers:

And groups and agents where [00:15:00] R V P is taken off, and then we find these markets with certain groups and certain agents where they’re still selling the P P O, they’re afraid to take that step. What would you say to an agent who’s seen R B P, who’s heard it from you, heard it from me, heard it from somebody else that they need to be taking a look at, but they’re just not ready to take that? What do you think is the motivation to go that direction other than rate? What’s the motivation?

Jack Stephens:

And so I would almost be a counter. [00:15:30] I would never sell it on rate or I would prefer it not to get sold on rate. If we can avoid it now, it still ends up happening, right? Less so now, but in the early days, that was, unfortunately, it happened a little bit more than I would’ve liked it to. But think of those groups. I’ve been in countless meetings, I’m sure you have, or somebody on here where we get the tagline, well, my group never uses it. They don’t ever use their insurance, whatever it might be. That would be a good group to potentially look at R B P. [00:16:00] So it doesn’t matter whether it’s a group of roofers or a group of doctors and lawyers, whatever, it might be somewhere in between. From an AFF fluency standpoint, what it comes down to is the group looking for options that are outside of the box, which some groups aren’t.

I mean, let’s just call it how it’s, and that’s okay. But there are a lot, and especially in the last probably year and a half or two years with that great resignation period and coming off [00:16:30] the heels of covid, more and more business owners are in tune with what they’re paying and also what their actual product is, where I don’t think it was always the case prior to the last couple years. So you have groups that are more invested in it, but if they are willing to look at a solution that is a little bit unique or maybe even a little bit exotic in comparison to what they have, or they’re aggressive, they want to be aggressive in terms of cutting costs, [00:17:00] it’s a great product for ’em. If that is not part of their plan, and again, that’s okay. If they want to just maintain status quo and they don’t want to rock the boat too much, I would never put reference base in front of ’em. Right. Makes sense. There’s other levers and switches that have to get paid. Yeah,

Jason Powers:

Makes sense. Benefit wise, you can do all kinds of things outside of switching the network to an rvp.

Jack Stephens:

So it is been a good product line for us. One of those ones where I think that, again, as long as it’s paired with the right group and the right fit, [00:17:30] usually it’s a great long-term solution for ’em, but by and large, it’s easier us for us to sell network too. So a lot of times that’s where we end up pivoting to, but it’s a great option to have. Just how we always like to frame it is it’s another arrow for us to shoot as opposed to being our only option out there, which sometimes gets missed. If you want to jump to the next slide,

Jason Powers:

There we are.

Jack Stephens:

So this is just going to give you kind an idea [00:18:00] on really what I could talk about reference-based pricing. I could talk about balance billing, I could talk about access to care all day long, but a lot of people don’t really understand how it works. And so what R B P is going to do is they’re going to pay off a percentage of Medicare. So it’s 150% for inpatient, it’s 130% for outpatient. So the average reimbursement rate, those will probably cut it about in half. So that’s less towards your E O B. It’s less in terms [00:18:30] of an E, o, B, less towards your deductible, less towards your out-of-pocket maximum. So it’s going to continue to pull those costs down when it’s working. It’s immediate savings right off the bat, because we lease all of our networks, Allstate does not have a proprietary network like UnitedHealthcare, like Humana. So removing those lease costs, we just pass those savings directly onto the client. And in some markets it can be steep upwards of 18 to 22%.

And our balance bill experience has still been low. So [00:19:00] we’re still trending at less than 3% of balanced bills nationally since 2017. So when I talk about balanced bills and potential issues that come up with R B P, we’re talking about a very small percentage of claims where that does happen, but it’s really important if those do occur or one of those scenarios does occur that both the agent and both the group know how to use it and know what to expect if the group is prepped on the front end. And it’s almost regardless of product. But if a group can be prepped on the front end, [00:19:30] then we’re going to mitigate a lot of those backend issues potentially

Jason Powers:

From a vendor perspective, who’s adjudicating your R B P on the back end? So

Jack Stephens:

We have an in-house, they’re called a member advocacy program, the MAP team, and they’re run through Allied benefit systems, our T P I.

Jason Powers:

Yep. So it’s all internal. It’s not been being sent off for a third party? Nope.

Jack Stephens:

It’s all internal. So that’ll give you kind of an idea of, like I said, the three options that I talked about, core value, core flex and core access, [00:20:00] and again, to Q four refresher. So I’m not going to go through this whole sheet, but this does

Jason Powers:

A really good, but post it down below,

Jack Stephens:

This does a really good job of just some of our key product highlights. Group size, carve out options, 10 90 nines are available on erisa, groups are available. Multi-state groups refund potential. So we don’t hold our refund hostage. It’s either a 50 or a hundred percent. Most of my groups are going to take a 50% refund and they’re going to take it and [00:20:30] run. Right. A hundred percent’s a richer benefit. So it comes with a guaranteed premium increase.

Jason Powers:

And I think it’s important to point out, it’s a check.

Jack Stephens:

It’s

Jason Powers:

A check. It’s not a credit on an invoice, it’s a check.

Jack Stephens:

And we don’t require renewal as long as you complete your 12 month contract. If there’s a refund out at the end of those 12 months, if they decide to non-renew in year two or three, whatever it is, they still get paid a check. Again, we do not hold that check hostage from a renewal standpoint. Okay. Alright. So here’s the meat of really sort of why we’re here in terms of [00:21:00] new stuff. The refresher side. Yeah, so I’m going to start with Vori Health. Okay. So VRI is a new vendor for us. VRI right now is just on our R B P chassis. It will translate into our network portfolio options, but right now this is just for groups that are enrolled with reference base. M S K, musculoskeletal, it’s a huge driver of spend in the last 10 years. It could be one or two, and there’s a lot of recurrent utilization.

[00:21:30] So what VRI is really geared to do is help bring some of those costs down on the M S K side. So it is AI physical therapy, which sounds a little bit wild, sounds a little bit new age, but I’ve seen some of the demos, our current president and the C E O of Vore did a joint call together. If you look up the Allstate benefits LinkedIn page, you can go in and pull that and get a full [00:22:00] demo in terms of what you’re looking at. But it’s really to bring down some of that recurrent utilization and get to a better spot. Because that’s just the thing is in terms of M S K, it’s almost like a roll of the dice and if it ever gets fixed, whether it’s a shoulder or back, you’ve dealt with shoulder pain.

Jason Powers:

I’m dealing with shoulder pain today,

Jack Stephens:

Today, today. So probably more than most how tough it can be just to fix that. So it’s a good value add in terms of point of service and day one benefit as opposed to something that maybe they will [00:22:30] use, maybe they won’t use. And that’s going to be the theme of the next couple of products that I talk about. And again, this is included now on everything. So $0 copay on all evaluations, $0 copay on a lumbar and knee. Everything else is going to be subject to deductible. And they have a wonderful app, a really simple interface to use if you are enrolled with that product line and you need to use those services. Very, very simple. Okay.

Jason Powers:

And currently just paired with [00:23:00] the rbp,

Jack Stephens:

Just R B P

Jason Powers:

Core value core complex core access, correct?

Jack Stephens:

Correct. Yep. And here’s another just slide piece that came out highlighting some of ’em, just what we talked about, but this is actually what if I were to send an agent marketing information, this is one of the pieces that

Jason Powers:

Would go out. So what’s the engagement look like from a member perspective? Does the member have to actively engage Vori Health? Does it Correct?

Jack Stephens:

Correct. Yep. Yep. So they would walk through that full life cycle of logging into the app. It’s [00:23:30] a two-factor authentication. All of those instructions I can send additional marketing info out on, and I probably will. Rick had actually emailed me in terms of updating our marketing

Jason Powers:

Info for your site. So we’ll post that below the video here so that agents have that for part of their presentation.

Jack Stephens:

It’s easy interface to use. That’s great. Another new one is Papa Caregivers.

Jason Powers:

I tried to explain this to a broker last week and stumbled all over it. I read the materials that you sent, I stumbled all over it, [00:24:00] but maybe you can help me clarify what this really is, what it means to members and then the member experience part.

Jack Stephens:

Yeah, so Papa, this was a new one that we’ve had for about six months now, eight months now. What it does is it gives each member or each enrolled member 10 hours of coverage,

Jason Powers:

Not subscriber member. Correct, correct. So spouse kids. Yep.

Jack Stephens:

Yep. So they’re going to get 10 hours of coverage per employee per calendar year. This [00:24:30] is available on all product lines. So if you need any groceries picked up, if you need help with any errands or housework or visit an elderly grandmother, grandfather, whatever it might be, any sort of assistance, that’s what Papa is there to help with. It does not need to be tied to a medical event, so you don’t have to go through some sort of a pre-auth phase where it has to be, there has to be a surgery, which is why you need assistance. It is day [00:25:00] one, your 10 hours to use as you see fit. And it has been, of all the quirky buzzy products that I’ve seen out there, it’s been as buzzy as it gets. Yeah,

Jason Powers:

Yeah, yeah. What’s the feedback? So I know we talked earlier this year about it, feedback’s been good, member experience, member engagement

Jack Stephens:

In terms of our expectations. It’s been

Jason Powers:

Well

Jack Stephens:

Received. It’s been very well received. One [00:25:30] of those ones where I think that a lot of times you don’t think that you’re ever going to use something like that, and then when you have the availability for it, it sort of changes that. Yeah, it’s

Jason Powers:

Something like that. It’s in here. So that’s what happened with telehealth for so many years until covid, and it was like, oh, I think I have a benefit that can really help here.

Jack Stephens:

And it’s almost like my Yeti where I yelled at my wife for spending that much money on a cup and then I have a nice cup that I just always use. So it’s [00:26:00] been great in terms of engagement and in terms of just value adds product expansion.

Jason Powers:

Good.

Jack Stephens:

And here’s another marketing piece that’ll go out. Again, just an example of what we would send out to the agent broker

Jason Powers:

Community. And again, member experience is all driven through an app on their phone, easy access,

Jack Stephens:

Huge emphasis on easy access. And then we’ve got me m d, so me, m d is not necessarily a new product for us, but we transitioned. So our previous [00:26:30] Telemed vendor was Teladoc last year. We pivoted to me m d, which has now been rebranded as Walmart Virtual Health. So I left the ME m D in this slide just because some people were used to seeing Connect the Dots, the E M D name. So those are the same company. Walmart Health Virtual Care is what all of our proposals will show. Again, this proposal or this is available on all product lines. Right now, the emphasis for the Switch was mental health benefits [00:27:00] that we’ve now been told we’ll be released down to kids as low or as young as 10 years old. So again, it’s a day one service. The mental health space has expanded.

I mean it’s grown night and day in the last probably five, 10 years. And Telemed is the same. Any sort of Telemed vendors, whether it’s Vori or Papa or E M D or whoever it is, we’re trying to make sure that we’re staying at the forefront of that side of it. And it’s [00:27:30] been a great partner as well. Really easy integration in terms of our product line, it’s all of our install paperwork. We’ll give very specific instructions on how to set it up. There is a specific link that you have to register with that is tied to Allstate. If you don’t use that link, the sit there system’s just going to assume that you’re just signing up for it and none of the updated amounts, updated copay amounts will translate. Right? You’re just going to be paying out of pocket for everything. So that’s the only thing that’s important is when you register, [00:28:00] I think it’s Walmart health virtual care.com/allstate benefits. Got it. So pretty straightforward.

Jason Powers:

And I see Urgent care. So three urgent care visits per individual per month, and then five talk therapy and

Jack Stephens:

Five talk therapy per month.

Jason Powers:

And that’s, wow.

Jack Stephens:

And that’s per individual. So Papa was per member or was per enrolled? That is per individual. Got it. Got it. It’s been a great resource for us. And this is the newest one. This is Cancer Coach through Asara Health. [00:28:30] Again, another great product in terms of just really just coaching a member through that whole pre mid and post diagnosis on the cancer side. Another tool that we wanted to make sure that was out there now where they can use it today as opposed to sort of a deferred benefit that maybe they won’t use. The hope is that nobody has to use it.

But that’s sort of why I wanted to make sure that we’re including these highlights. The way that we did is I think on their own, if it’s Cancer Coach or if it’s Boy, [00:29:00] or if it’s Walmart Virtual Care, or if it’s Papa on their own, they’re fine. But I think when you tell the whole story of all four together, and again, this is on all product lines for us right now, from a point of service in a day one benefit, it tells a much stronger story of where our product line is heading and what we’re trying to do for the members enrolled

Jason Powers:

Again. So member experience here is [00:29:30] when they get that diagnosis, this is someone that they can work with to really understand to walk through that whole thing, what’s going on, what the providers telling them. Correct. Helping with appointments, all of it, helping understand and translate some of the information that’s

Jack Stephens:

Being thrown, almost sort of like a steward through that whole

Jason Powers:

Process. A coach. A coach, yeah, it’s a good name for it.

Jack Stephens:

What to

Jason Powers:

Expect. And

Jack Stephens:

All of these are within [00:30:00] the last year, vitality is our wellness program. We’ve had for a bit, again, healthcare Blue Book. We’ve had for a bit that Healthcare Blue Book is just on R V P right now. So think of Healthcare Book as Yelp for providers in the healthcare world. So it’s not going to tell you which provider potentially balance bills more than the other, but what it’s going to do, it’s going to be a cost and quality steerage tool. So it’s just [00:30:30] in the world of transparency where everybody is trying to be more transparent, it certainly checks that box.

Jason Powers:

And then vitality applies. I know I’ve seen it really front and center on the 51 plus product, but it does apply in the small group product. Does a broker have to quote it with Vitality? You

Jack Stephens:

Can quote with or without? Okay. You can quote with or

Jason Powers:

Without. So it’s something we need to make sure is included in the proposal. Correct. It’ll be listed [00:31:00] in that little matrix at the beginning of the quote that talks about the plan design a hundred percent. It’ll either say yes or no or included or not

Jack Stephens:

Ality. So with Walmart Health Virtual Care, we’re just including that right off the bat. But wellness will probably include off the bat probably 90% of the time. But it’s one of those ones where you can toggle it on or off.

Jason Powers:

Well, so look, we’re filming this in the third quarter of Q three, heading into fourth quarter of Q four. And one of [00:31:30] the big things happening in the fourth quarter of 2023 is Humana is exiting the commercial group space. So there are groups out there that have Humana’s Go 365 program. This is maybe not the same program as Go 365, but having a wellness program to replace a wellness program would be,

Jack Stephens:

Especially in a market like Kansas City, that was pretty, there was a good clip of people that were used [00:32:00] to go through 65 and used to a wellness package.

Jason Powers:

We’ll have agents all the way down in southwest Missouri that are watching that. This is a good replacement for that, replacing it with a product that doesn’t have any wellness program. This one has some merit to it, and there’s step tracking rewards, all those things packed into it.

Jack Stephens:

And then, well, the other thing that I wanted to walk through was the online enrollment.

Jason Powers:

Finally, that’s just, [00:32:30] this is for new groups.

Jack Stephens:

We’ll get to it finally. But yes, finally. So in terms of implementation, I mean the activity tracker will be up there too. That goes back to what you’re talking about. And then the online functionality in terms of we can release an online link where those apps essentially will come back to us into our system. So it’s a full digital footprint. That’s where we’ve seen a lot of traction wise is migrating to the online apps. We still [00:33:00] get a ton of paper apps. We still get a ton of competitor apps, but that online enrollment has been nice. And I’ll go

Jason Powers:

Into, you get a lot of form fire from us,

Jack Stephens:

Well, or Easy apps or everybody. I’ll go into some of the updates on the online enrollment side too. So

Jason Powers:

Here it is. Like this one. Yeah,

Jack Stephens:

Right behind it. So can we

Jason Powers:

Virtually High Five all the brokers out there that are cheering

Jack Stephens:

Well, and there’s been a lot of that on our side. So this, I’ve been told, and I’m going to tell this in front of [00:33:30] all of your broker community, but don’t hold me to this full rollout. Should be before the end of this month. Again, right at start of fourth

Jason Powers:

Quarter

Jack Stephens:

September, 2023, right at the start of fourth quarter. Pretty straightforward. I mean, adding new warrants, adding new employees, changing addresses,

Jason Powers:

Batch terminations. We looked at this I think six months ago when we sat in here. And this is something that the broker community has been after it. I know you’ve been working [00:34:00] hard behind the scenes to put it together. So I think this certainly is a game changer for Q four and beyond. Excited to see it. Yep.

Jack Stephens:

So that’s been a good add. I’m excited. Just as excited

Jason Powers:

As you are. So is Bob.

Jack Stephens:

So is Bob, right?

It’ll hopefully help him out a little bit. Yes, for sure. And then Dental Vision, another one of those ones that I just want to make sure that I’m not going to spend a ton of time on it, but just making sure that they know that they have options. So I mentioned Laura Vota is our in-house ancillary rep. [00:34:30] She’s got a full suite of products through Nipon and Beam Hudson on our side. And Pat can quote Dental Vision options that will sit on the same bill, 180 50 plans. They’re pretty standard. I put some samples in here that we can kind of breeze through. But those, yeah, the value, the select, the preferred, and then the choice. So it gives you options on that single bill where we sell. A lot of those are virgin groups where you don’t want to do the full ancillary proposal, just tack it onto the same bill. Move on from there. Yeah,

Jason Powers:

[00:35:00] That’s great.

Jack Stephens:

Yep. Same with Vision

Jason Powers:

And Nip Pond’s, the carrier partner behind the scenes on those products.

Jack Stephens:

So when we talk about neon or beam, just to be clear, if you need a more robust ancillary package, that’s where I would pivot you to get in touch with Laura. Let her walk you through the neon and the beam options. If you need a fairly simple quick solution on the ancillary side, Hudson can knock that out through the products that sit on our [00:35:30] chassis. Easy. Yep. Alright. And then the last big update for us is the underwriting. So again, all of those products that you’ve seen besides healthcare, blue Book and Vitality, everything is new within the last year. Some of those are new within the last three months. Underwriting is the same way. So the last time we were at this, we did this last year, I didn’t have any simplified underwriting options or I was thinking maybe [00:36:00] we were close. Now we’ve got 22 states.

So you’ve got 12 states. That middle section, everything is going to start at 20 plus enrolled 12 of those states in that middle section. Those do require claims for one effective dates of this year. We added 10 additional states, also, 20 plus enrolled, but no claims are required in those 10 states. There’s a census that’s needed, renewal is needed, and we have a plan disclosure [00:36:30] form that’s needed if you fall under one of those states. So the closest for everybody here is either Nebraska or Illinois. What has been sort of unique is I think more agents are used to other carrier portals. So the claims ask hasn’t been as big of a detriment as I think anybody really thought it was potentially going to be. I for one, was a little bit nervous on how that ask would be, but it seems to have been, in terms of getting that ask in, [00:37:00] it hasn’t been anything that’s been overly complex or anything that an agent or a broker couldn’t deal with.

So that’s been good to see. That’s great. Everything else, so two to 19 is still going to require apps, but that claim’s on A is new within the last year or two, and everybody will ask, do you think that you’re going to come down from 20 plus? Do you think that you’re going to expand more states that don’t require claims? I think the answer to both of those are yes. Right? So look at the old, we mentioned reference base, it started in 2017 and 10 states. It’s very different product, [00:37:30] very different can of worms. But the thought process of a measured rollout, don’t get over your skis too far. Be smart about expansion. It holds true for our simplified underwriting as well.

Jason Powers:

Love it.

Jack Stephens:

And then you’ve got, just in terms of our mid-market, I wanted to throw and make sure that we’re throwing a couple things on here too. So they’ve got a ton of flexibility. Where we’ve seen a lot of traction too is just, especially within the last probably six months, it’s our stop-loss only. Yeah,

Jason Powers:

It’s a little [00:38:00] different. Quoting 50 51, a little bit different. I feel like Pat, pat does a good job of we jump on a call, we walk through what is it that the group is really looking for as a broker looking for on this particular case. And yeah, there’s a lot of flexibility

Jack Stephens:

There. And the volume is different. But between you, me and Hudson, we can’t do that on every single no. As much as we would like to. One of the unfortunate sizes, we can’t do a consultative approach on every single group, [00:38:30] but the mid-market volume is different. It’s still hard to do in a lot of instances, but there are those opportunities where when we come to the table in terms of looking at a long-term solution, that’s a big piece of it is being consultative on the front end as much as we can be. But yeah, run in out options. They even have some specialty RX carve out options too as well, and pass through rebates that they can do. They can get a little bit more crafty on that side because just the risk in the sample size is a little bit different than what we [00:39:00] see in the small group space for sure.

Just a quick breakdown on what to expect from an underwriting, and this is underwriting relating to the mid-market space. So 51 to 99, if they’re currently enrolled as fully insured, there’s no data out there by and large still need apps. We’re going to have to go to IQs at some point, which is where we, it’s sort of a no man’s land in terms of that space sometimes. Okay. Different story. If they’re a hundred plus different story, if they’re 51 plus and they’re currently self-funded or level funded, [00:39:30] you’re going to start to get some of that claims data

And then work site. So this is where our voluntary team will come in. We do offer a multi-line discount depending on what you bundle, how we market. This is up to 8% off the admin fees. I think a better way to look at it is each one of those buckets will get you about a half a point off the total premium, and you can sell all four or one, whatever it might be. So the more you bundle, the more that we can discount on a for life case. It’s not going to probably be a huge [00:40:00] change. But on a 44 Life case, it could be huge.

And our work site team, our voluntary team, they have a full suite of products. So you’ve got accident CI, h i, disability life. Doug can walk through that stuff in his sleep. He’s been around for, I don’t know, he’s been in the space 15, 20 years. So he’s a great resource for agents to have on that site. And all of those work site products too are portable. So if you don’t necessarily sell the medical, you can still sell [00:40:30] all of those work site options or vice versa. You can sell the medical and none of the work site. But I do think that they do, most of ’em, especially the small market solution products that they have, s m s is how we market it or brand it. A lot of ’em are guarantee issue and they pay a flat cash value and they do a good job of plugging holes in contracts. Not to say that ours are full of ’em, but I think any carrier to say that their contract is a hundred percent bulletproof is probably not being as transparent as maybe they should be. [00:41:00] And those do a good job of if there is a exclusion or something that does come up, does do a good job of paying a cash value.

And in terms of we’ve seen supplemental benefits explode.

Jason Powers:

Yeah, we’ve seen a lot more activity in that space than in years past. I agree.

Jack Stephens:

And then just a quick breakdown in terms of their core products. So accident, disability, hi ci, cancer Life. [00:41:30] That’s why I kind of leave this piece at the end is that gives everybody the full scope of you’ve got small group, major met options, you’ve got mid-market major met options. You’ve got a rep that can handle a full suite of ancillary products if it’s something that we can’t handle. Oh, by the way, you also have a work site rep that can handle a full suite of work site products.

Jason Powers:

I think back to earlier conversations you and I had about the Allstate transition from Nat Gen, and [00:42:00] this really does kind of paint that picture that it is all one portfolio now, so that’s great.

Jack Stephens:

Yeah, and on the horizon, there’s more stuff coming too. I mentioned the Walmart health relationship, they’re actually in the process. They just announced in Kansas City that there’s going to be four standalone stores. I would venture to say that our relationship with them is not going away anytime soon. So I’ll be interested to see what comes from that. I’ve heard rumblings some sort of direct primary care in conjunction with reference-based pricing. So there’s some really [00:42:30] creative options that are out there now that we’re sort of past our deferred maintenance stage, and we can actually expand the product line, expand the portfolio more so than we already have.

Jason Powers:

Yeah. Well, as we kind of wrap up here, I think we are getting close on time here, Bob, as we’re kind of wrapping up. Any last bits of wisdom for brokers as they kind of head out into Q four?

Jack Stephens:

Keep your head above water. Don’t panic. No, I mean, beat us [00:43:00] up. We look for every opportunity to engage with an agent or with a broker that we can get. I think the more that we can all be on the same page, whether it’s us or regardless of who the carrier is, it should benefit the client. So if you have any questions or comments or concerns, a lot of the products that you see from us, some of ’em are our advantage product. It’s our in-network only product. That was a broker suggestion. So it’s not to say that I’m going to be able to just flip a switch and find [00:43:30] you a new product that’s going to get turned on in the next week, but we do take that stuff. We do look for solutions. So if you have, like I said, any ideas or questions for us, do not hesitate to lean on either Hudson or myself or Pat or whoever it might be.

Jason Powers:

Yeah. Well, Jack, I appreciate you being on as always. Sure. I feel like I learned so much when you come to the studio.

Jack Stephens:

Thanks for having

Jason Powers:

Me. I know our brokers appreciate it as well. Again, if you’re looking for additional marketing content for Allstate, [00:44:00] just below this video, we’ll have links to the different marketing flyers that talk about the programs that Jack just reviewed with us. If you’re looking for an Allstate quote, just scroll on down the rest of the page. To that, there’s a button, a call to action for you to reach out to our team here at Legacy. Again, we’re a general agency, so we work on your behalf. We are contracted with Allstate as a general agent, so we don’t cost you or the client any of your commissions. Those are all 100% [00:44:30] credited to you. So Jack, thanks again. I know you’ve got to head across the state to out of here, see agents in St. Louis, Louis tomorrow. The agents out in the field that are watching this go out and keep your head above water. Is that what you said?

Jack Stephens:

If you’re at the St. Louis Association of Health Underwriters on

Jason Powers:

Naip now, Friday

Jack Stephens:

The

Jason Powers:

15th, 15th of September,

Jack Stephens:

Our booth will be there. Stop by.

Jason Powers:

Yeah. And happy selling. We’ll see you [00:45:00] next time. Yeah.

Thank you for watching this edition of our carrier product update series. Visit our website to watch other episodes.