WLM | health
Plan designs – WINhealth
introduced its metal plans in 2013.
The metal plans consisted of
catastrophic, bronze, silver, gold,
and platinum plans. Each plan
offered a different set of benefits
at different price points in order to
serve a broad swath of consumers
with varying needs.
NCQA Accreditation – As
part of the Affordable Care Act,
accreditation through either
URAC or NCQA is required to
participate on the exchange. These
organizations are both accrediting
entities recognized by the US
Department of Health and Human
Services that work to improve the
quality of healthcare. WINhealth
proudly received their three year
“Accredited” status from the
National Committee for Quality
Assurance (NCQA). NCQA Health
Plan Accreditation evaluates how
well a health plan manages all parts
of its delivery system – physicians,
hospitals, other providers and
administrative services – in order
to continuously improve the quality
of care and services provided to its
members.
Staff – With its beginnings as a
small, Wyoming-based company,
WINhealth always prided itself on
its outstanding customer service.
The exchange challenged the
company’s ability to maintain its
personalized, thorough service
promise. In order to handle the large
influx of new members, WINhealth
had to hire and train additional
staff, and extensive training had
to be provided to current staff.
Determining the level of staffing
need when a company is growing so
rapidly in such a foreign landscape
is difficult. It proved to be a game
of catch up for a long time, but
the company is happy to report
that staffing is now at a healthy,
productive level. Between 2013 and
2015, WINhealth grew from 33
employees to its current level of 63
full time equivalents.
Technology and Systems – New
technology and systems had to
quickly be implemented in order to
handle the higher level of demand
and consumption of services and
to facilitate new processes for the
new product offering. Several new
partnerships were formed and large
investments in technology were
made.
Additional Services – WINhealth
invested in a proven telehealth
service, Teladoc, in an effort to
further improve access to timely
and appropriate care at no cost
to the member. Recognizing the
Jake Care
Owner / Technician
Wyoming
Minute Man Supply, LLC
34
Wyoming Lifestyle Magazine | Summer 2015
growing concern of identity theft,
the company also invested in free
identity theft protection for all of its
members.
Compliance – WINhealth worked
hard to get all of their people and
processes under compliance with
the ACA laws. Major changes and
additions had to be made in order to
make this happen.
Marketing and Advertising –
Finally, once the pieces were all in
place, it was time to launch the new
brand and messaging just in time
to attract new members through
the exchange. A powerful website
was developed, along with a suite of
marketing collateral and an effective
advertising campaign.
And the result? Well, the results
were outstanding. Between
December 2013 and March 2015,
WINhealth more than doubled its
membership. In total, WINhealth
now serves approximately 19,000
Wyomingites.
To top it all off, no matter your
political outlook, the Affordable
Care Act has proven to be beneficial
for Wyoming. Here’s why:
1. Creates new protections to
ensure your insurance plan
covers you when you need it.
The ACA prohibits health plans
from putting annual or lifetime
dollar limits on most benefits. It
also made mandatory, several
preventive care measures
covered at no cost to the
member.
2. Expands coverage for young
adults. Under the ACA, young
adults can remain on their
parent’s insurance until age 26.
3. Ensures affordable coverage
for more Wyoming families.