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Highlights | BACK | NEXT | So Many Health Care Benefit Choices. Where to Begin? Business owners and company benefit administrators face a great challenge: with all the options out there, how can they choose a health plan that will give their employees the widest range of quality health care benefits and choice while still protecting the company's bottom line? That's where brokers come in. More than 600 insurance brokers sell Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plans to business owners and benefits administrators in our service area. They help our customers weigh the costs and value of our products - and those of our competitors - so they can make informed decisions about their health care benefits. Whether a customer wants the total freedom of choice of providers that traditional indemnity coverage offers, the cost savings of an HMO, the flexibility of a point of service (POS) plan, or something in between, brokers help our customers choose the right Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan for their employees. Breaking Records In 1996, BCBSNCA enrolled more than 35,000 new non-federal members, the greatest single-year enrollment gain in 10 years. In fact, in the Washington metropolitan area, we now insure one in five of those insured. The majority of this growth occurred through sales of our popular preferred provider organization (PPO) product - BluePreferred - and our point of service product - CapitalChoice - particularly in the market segment comprised of groups with fewer than 200 employees. In fact, sales of BluePreferred in that segment were three and a half times higher in 1996 than in 1995, the year the product was introduced. Clearly, BluePreferred met the market's demand for a health plan that gives employees freedom of choice in doctors and services while effectively managing benefit costs. Building Relationships with the Broker Community Competitive rates, a rich range of health care insurance products and high levels of customer satisfaction boosted enrollment this year, but BCBSNCA truly credits the professional insurance broker community, which sells and renews over 80 percent of our business. We value our relationships with brokers and take every opportunity to work closely with them. For example, twice yearly the company invites brokers to a conference to give us feedback, ask questions, suggest new products and offer us ideas on how we might improve service to our customers. In response to a recent suggestion to improve telephone accessibility, our account executives and account managers now carry pagers with them so they can respond faster to requests from brokers and customers. Responsiveness has its rewards. Not only did the number of active brokers placing business for us increase in 1996, but their satisfaction with us as a company to do business with increased as well. A 1996 broker satisfaction survey showed that overall satisfaction with BCBSNCA increased by 34 percent over 1995 levels. Ninety percent of our brokers rated our top three best-selling products - BluePreferred, CapitalChoice and CapitalCare Advantage - as either "excellent" or "good." And more brokers classify us as better than our competitors in the areas of quality of provider networks, benefit options, underwriting and new product development. Brokers also continue to give high marks to the quarterly Broker Files newsletter as a vehicle to keep them informed about our business. We work hard to provide our brokers with the tools they need to meet their business goals, because we know that they are important to our customers.     Report Fraud Privacy Statement Site Map Return to Home Page Serving Maryland, the District of Columbia and portions of Virginia. CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield is the shared business name of CareFirst of Maryland, Inc. and Group Hospitalization and Medical Services, Inc. CareFirst BlueChoice, Inc., an affiliate company, also offers health benefit products and services on this site. CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield and CareFirst BlueChoice, Inc. are independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. ® Registered trademark of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. ®' Registered trademark of CareFirst of Maryland, Inc. This site is best viewed in IE 5.0 or higher or Netscape 7.0 or higher.