Option 1: Reviewing, Selecting, and Approving Benefits With Prior Batch History

Note: The steps below are written for your customers. While there are some notes in the online version that only you can see (such as this one), the customer version contains only steps and relevant notes for them. The process outlined in this article is for customers who have prior batch history (i.e., the Source Benefits Batch field of the Benefits Batch is populated.) Click the link to download a PDF to share with your customers: BPM Customer Guide.

Step 1: Log in to BPM

When offered benefits are ready to review, you will receive an email similar to below announcing that benefits are ready to review in the Benefit Plan Manager (BPM) portal. The email will contain a link to access the portal.

Note: Some of the verbiage and design elements in the example images displayed here will vary slightly from your actual screens due to differences in software configuration. However, the functionality is the same.

To log in to BPM:

  1. Open the email announcing that benefits are ready for your review and click the link to open BPM.

    The BPM Login Window displays.

  2. Enter your Client Number and Last Name and then click Next.

    The Account Access Confirmation window displays.

     

    Note: If you do not know your Client Number, contact your Benefits Representative.

  3. Click the option to send the code to either your mobile phone number or email address and then click Send Verification Code.

    A data entry field displays for entering the code.

     

    Note: You must use the mobile phone number or email address that your Benefits Representative has on file for you.

  4. Once you receive the code, enter it in the space provided and click Next.

    Note: Additional options display on this screen for resending the code or selecting a different authentication method. If you select the option to use a different authentication method, you are returned to the Account Access Confirmation window. The only two options are email or SMS/Text Msg to your mobile phone and you can select the alternative option if the first option failed. For instance, if you were unable to receive a verification code via email, select the SMS/Text Msg option to receive the verification code via text your mobile phone number.

    After successful authentication of the verification code, the BPM Welcome page displays.

Step 2: Open the Batch

To open the batch:

  1. Click the Benefits Batch card on the BPM Welcome page.

    1. Note: 

      • If there is more than one Benefits Batch Card, using the displayed effective date on the card may help you quickly identify the batch you want to review.

      • If your company is a parent company and you have related child

        companies, you may also see a Related Companies link on the Welcome Page next to the Client Name and Client Number. Clink the link to display the related companies.

     

    The batch opens to the Benefits Summary tab and displays a summary of the offered benefits in this benefits batch. Use the vertical and horizontal scroll bars as necessary to view the entire grid.

    Tip: Clicking Manage Benefits or Welcome in the navigation pane takes you back to the Welcome page.

Step 3: Review the Benefits Summary

Once you open the batch, you are on the Benefits Summary tab where you can review Benefits Summary details.

To review the benefits summary:

  1. On the Benefits Summary tab, review the side-by-side comparison of Current to Renewal statistics for the benefit group(s). Change the Summary Type view from the default of Total Premium to other available views: Employer Contribution, Employee Contribution, and Enrolled Count.

    Total Premium

    Employer Contribution

    Employee Contribution

    Enrolled Count

Step 4: Compare Offered Plans

Now it is time to review and compare offered plans.

ALERT:  Initially, you will see the current plans up for renewal as they are selected by default. This gives you an opportunity to compare these plans before you select any additional available plans. If you later select additional plans, revisit this step and review the new plans so that you can review contribution methods and edit enrollment counts as necessary.

To review and compare offered plans:

  1. Click a Benefit Group name to drill into the Group Summary details.

    This takes you to the Group Summary tab where the Plan Comparison sub-tab defaults as open.

    You can compare the details of each offered plan by Plan Type on the Group Summary > Plan Comparison tab. The Plan Details include:

    • All premiums for all Coverage Levels as applicable. Example: Employee Only, Employee + Spouse, Employee + Child, , Employee + Family, etc.

      Note: Coverage Level names may vary from the examples given above.

    • Co-pay amounts

    • In Network/Out of Network Deductibles

    • Out-of-Pocket Maximums

    There may also be details for specific services (such as hospitalization or outpatient surgery) as well as additional fields specific to a plan category. For instance, for a Vision Plan, there may be details outlining the coverage for both necessary and elective contact lenses. There are not as many details for supplemental plans. For these plans, typically only the premium amounts display in BPM.

     

    Note: You will need to repeat this step for each Plan Type by selecting a different option from the Plan Type field.

    The Plan Comparison tab is also where you will select plans. Return to the Plan Comparison tab for plan selection once you have reviewed Benefits Summary information and made any changes as necessary to Contribution Methods and/or enrollment counts.

Step 5: Review the Group Summary

Next, review Group Summary details on the Summary tab. This is where you can:

  • Compare the Current and Renewal premiums for the Employee Only (EO) coverage level within a Benefit Group by Plan Type.

    Note: 

    • Coverage level names may vary depending on your configuration. The equivalent of the Employee Only (EO) premiums are shown here.

    • As covered in the previous section, you can view renewal premiums for all coverage levels included in offered plans on the Plan Comparison tab.

  • Edit contribution method details and enrollment counts for the selected plans, if necessary.

Accessing the Group Summary

To access the group summary:

  1. With the desired group selected, click the Summary tab.

  2. Then, ensure the desired Plan Type is selected.

    You are now on the Group Summary > Summary tab.

Compare Current and Renewal EO Premiums

To compare Current and Renewal premiums for EO:

When you first display the Summary tab in BPM, for any plan being renewed from the current year's batch, the Current Enrolled Count is the same as the Renewal Enrolled Count.

Note: The cloning of enrollment counts is handled by the Renew business rule on Benefits Batch dataform. See the Benefits Batch and OBP Renew Rule section of the Business Rule Methods topic for details.

The enrollment counts may require editing for the renewal plans but for now, let's use them for comparison. We will show you how to edit the Renewal Enrolled Count later in this section.

Initially reviewing the same counts for Current Enrolled Count and Renewal Enrolled Count allows you to compare "apples to apples" when evaluating percentages of increase or decrease in premiums and contributions from the Current year to the Renewal year.

Note: If any of the plans being offered in the renewal years are new plans, the percentage of increase or decrease is not calculated for those since there is no Current Year data to use for comparison calculations.

In the example below, there is a current plan being offered for renewal. By having the current and renewal enrollment the same, you can see the percentage of increase from the current year to the renewal year in EO Premium, Total Premium, Employer Contribution, and Employee contribution. This is highlighted below:

Edit Contribution Methods and Enrollment Counts

Now, let's review contribution methods and enrollment counts and edit them if necessary.

To edit contribution method and enrollment counts:

  1. With the desired Group and Plan Type still selected on the Group Summary > Summary tab, click arrow next to a plan to expand the details.

  2. Review the Contribution Method and the contribution amounts and percentages for each tier, paying particular attention to the Employer Contribution details. In the example below, the employer pays the entire Employee Only premium and a portion of the premium for the remaining tiers:

  3. If you want to change the Contribution method:

    1. Open the Contribution method drop down list.

      Depending on your selection, Employer Contrib% or Employer Contrib fields in the grid become editable.

    2. Enter the Employer Contrib% or Employer Contrib amounts and then click Save.

  4. If you want to change Renewal Enrolled Count values, with the Contribution Method details still expanded, update the Enrolled Count fields in the Renewal section for each coverage level as necessary.

    Note: 

    • If there are associated child companies, you cannot edit the Enrolled Count in BPM. The fields will appear dimmed and unavailable. This is because BPM is aggregating the parent company and child company enrollment counts for you and using this information to recalculate the percentages and other calculations shown.

    • During plan selection, if you select new plans that are not yet listed here, you should return to the Group Summary > Summary tab and review/edit the contribution methods and enrollment counts for those plans as well.

  5. Repeat these steps to review contribution method and enrollment details for all plans within each Plan Type.

Step 6: Select Plans

Now it is time to make your plan selections. For this, we will stay on the the Group Summary tab but return to the Plan Comparison sub-tab where you reviewed and compared offered plans in Step 4.

To select plans:

  1. Click the Group Summary > Plan Comparison tab.

    At the top of the Plan Comparison tab, the renewal plans are grouped under "Renewal Plans" and new plans (if any are being offered) are listed under "Other Available Plans". There are a drop-down lists under each plan with pre-selected values shown:

    • Selected - If a plan has a white background and is in "Selected" status initially, this indicates the plan is a renewal plan (i.e., it is from the current year and is eligible for renewal).

    • New - If a plan is in "New" status initially, this plan is a new plan being offered in the renewal period.

    In the example below, there is a renewal plan in "Selected" status and multiple plans in "New" status:

  2. Make selections using the following guidelines:

    • If you want to proceed with renewing a plan under "Renewal Plans": Leave it set to "Selected".

    • If you want to drop a Renewal Plan: Click the down arrow and change from "Selected" to "Drop". Notice that the background color of the dropped plan changes to gray.

    • If you want to pick a New plan: Under "Other Available Plans", click the down arrow and change from "New" to "Selected". Notice that the selected "New" plan is added to a "New Plans Selected" section and the background color changes to light orange.

    • If you want to reject a New plan: Under "Other Available Plans", click the down arrow and change from "New" to "Reject". Notice that the background color of the rejected plan changes to gray.

  3. When you are finished making selections for the currently selected Plan Type, click Save.

    ALERT:  If you attempt to go to another tab or select a different Plan Type without saving your changes, an Unsaved Changes warning message similar to the example below will display. To avoid losing work, click Cancel and then click Save to save your work.

  4. Repeat the steps in this section to make plan selections for all Plan Types in the selected Group.

    ALERT:  If you selected any new plans that were not yet listed when you first reviewed offered plans in Step 4, be certain to return to the Group Summary > Summary tab and review/edit the contribution methods and enrollment counts for those plans as well and save those changes. In the example below, we added two new offered plans that were not offered in the current renewal year. (This is why no data is shown in the Enrolled, EO Premium, Total Premium, Employer Contrib, and Employee Contrib columns in Current section. No historical data exists.) Be certain to check the contribution methods and enrollment counts on any newly selected plans before you submit your selections.

Step 7: Work on the Remaining Groups (if Applicable)

If you have more than one Benefit Group in this batch, repeat the following sections for the remaining groups:

Step 8: Review the Selection Summary and Submit Selections

ALERT:  Plans for all Benefit Groups in the current batch must be reviewed and your final selections must be made before submitting final selections. Any plans in "New" status that have not been either selected or rejected will automatically be rejected when you submit final selections.

When you are finished making plan selections for all Plan Types in all Groups, you can review a summary of your selections, add your signature to indicate that you have approved the selections and then finalize the process by submitting the changes.

To review the selection summary and submit selections:

  1. When you are finished making plan selections for all Plan Types in all Groups, with any Group and Plan Type shown (as it does not matter), go to the Summary tab and click Continue.

    A confirmation message similar to the following displays.

  2. Click OK to continue.

  3. Click Review Selections.

    A confirmation message displays.

  4. Click OK.

    Note: BPM checks for any errors. If errors are found, a message similar to the following may display.

    If the error is not critical, you can click Save Anyway to continue or you can correct the errors and re-initiate the "Review Selection Summary" process once errors are reviewed and corrected.

     

    The Selection Summary window displays.

  5. On the Selection Summary window, before you finalize your selections, you can:

    • Scroll to the tabbed sections near the bottom of the screen and review selections for each Plan Category:

      Note that in addition to being able to view the summary for each plan type by clicking the tab for each Plan Category, you can also further filter to a specific Benefit Group within the Plan Category. The default filter is "All Groups". In the example below, we have filtered to a Benefit Group named "Main" to only see calculations for that group:

      Note: If you need to make a correction, go back to a prior section using the left navigation panel. Click the second green check mark to go back to the plan review and plan selection screens.

    • View Client Renewal notes, if present. (There could be special instructions or a general note from your Benefits Representative listed for you here.)

       

    • Click the link in the Affiliated section to view the list of related child companies, if applicable.

      (This is the same list that can be accessed from the Welcome page. This is mentioned in Step 2: Open the Batch.)

  6. When you are certain of your selections, sign the Selection Summary.

    • If you can sign your signature: If you have a signature pad, touch pad or wish to use your mouse to sign your signature, click Use Signature, sign your name electronically above the dotted gray line, and click Accept.

    • If you cannot sign your signature, type it instead: Ensure that Use Signature is not selected, type your signature in the space provided, and click Accept.

  7. Click Finalize at the bottom of the Selection Summary.

    A confirmation message similar to the following displays:

  8. Click OK to continue.

    You are returned to the BPM Welcome page where the Benefits Batch card displays "Finalized". The lock symbol indicates that this batch can no longer be opened.

    Please contact your Benefits Representative immediately if you have submitted in error and need to make changes.