SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Extend Health, Inc., which operates the nation’s largest private Medicare exchange, announced today that it is a finalist for a 2011 ABBY Award from the Adaptive Business Leaders (ABL) Organization. The nomination recognizes Extend Health’s patent-pending call center system, which shortens average telephone hold times for customers and maximizes the productivity and effectiveness of its licensed benefit advisors.
For the past 13 years, ABBY Awards have honored North American companies that have developed ways to lower the cost of providing quality healthcare through their medical or information technologies or innovative approaches to the delivery of healthcare. Using a sophisticated algorithm developed for the unique attributes of the exchange industry, the Extend Health call center system directs every calling customer to a benefit advisor with the appropriate licensure and insurance appointments that match the caller's geographic area and available plans.
Bryce Williams, CEO of Extend Health, said, “In seven years of operating the nation’s largest private Medicare exchange, we have learned that nothing is more important to the effectiveness of a health insurance exchange than a great consumer experience. We also know that an exchange is more than an interactive website. Consumers want and need direct interaction with licensed benefit advisors to make informed decisions as they navigate the complex process of selecting and enrolling in health plans. On behalf of the entire team at Extend Health, I would like to thank ABL for the honor of being named a finalist for an ABBY Award, which recognizes that our proven technology makes a positive difference in the experience of our customers.”
Extend Health pioneered and manages the largest private Medicare exchange in the country. More employers have used Extend Health than any other company to transition their retirees to a private Medicare exchange. Extend Health has helped more than 350,000 retirees use an exchange to select from more than 3,500 private Medicare plans from 73 national and regional insurance companies.
In addition to its innovative service center system, Extend Health has the only exchange platform in the industry that enables end-to-end electronic transmission of enrollment information with interoperability between the exchange and insurance carriers. This interoperability promotes accurate and efficient enrollment, premium administration, claims processing and reimbursements. Advanced decision support tools also help benefit advisors provide clear and concise guidance and support, and make it easy for retirees to select the private Medicare coverage that best suits their needs.
The ABBYs will be presented at the 13th Annual Innovations in HealthcareSM Awards Event on September 28, 2011 in Long Beach, California.
About the Adaptive Business Leaders Organization
ABL supports the needs of its Member CEOs by providing a place for top-level executives to draw on the experience, knowledge, and skill sets of their healthcare and technology industry peers in a vertical industry, personal advisory board setting. Members meet monthly in Round Tables, as well as near-monthly in workshops and conferences to hear from cutting-edge experts, to exchange ideas, and connect with other chief executives. ABL's CEO Round Table program is offered throughout California: in Greater Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Francisco, and Santa Clara Counties. More information can be found at http://www.abl.org and http://www.abl.org/IIH.htm.
About Extend Health
Extend Health, Inc., founded in 2004, operates the largest private Medicare exchange in the country. For more information, visit Extend Health on the web at http://www.extendhealth.com.