Health Plan Open Enrollment: Strategies to Improve Results, a May 24, 2006 audio conference on CD-ROM, looks at what can
make for a successful health plan open enrollment season with plenty of time to implement these practices by next season.
Click here to listen to some pre-conference comments from our audio conference presenters.
Open enrollment is the once-a-year opportunity for employees to review, elect and change their health insurance coverage as well as adjust contributions to the savings, retirement and flexible spending options their employers offer. Decisions made during this period carry significant financial weight for both employees and for the health plans they select. To support employees during this critical process and boost enrollment, employers and health plans go to great lengths to communicate the deadlines, conditions and impact of open enrollment to their populations.
During this 90-minute audio conference, your expert panel of speakers, Joan McCarthy, vice president and communication consultant at AON Consulting, Paul Harris senior consultant with Hewitt Associates, and Hilary Mitchell, director, voluntary benefits programs with Pitney Bowes provide inside details on how to improve the
results of your open enrollment season.
You will get details on:
- Methods and strategies for communicating with potential members;
- How to get your health plan to stand out from the crowd;
- How consumer-driven healthcare plans have changed the open enrollment landscape and what this means for your health plan;
- The role of information technology in open enrollment; and
- What employers and employees want from open enrollment season.
You can "attend" this program right in your office and enjoy significant savings – no travel time or hassle; no hotel
expenses. It’s so convenient! Invite your staff members to listen in.
WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS AUDIO CONFERENCE?
CEOs, presidents, strategic planning directors, financial managers, product development and marketing executives,
employee benefit directors, human resource executives.
ABOUT OUR PANELISTS:
Paul W. Harris
Paul W. Harris is a senior healthcare strategist, program design and corporate restructuring consultant at Hewitt Associates.
Harris’ experience includes providing direction to senior management of large complex employers to develop and deploy their healthcare benefit programs, analysis of health plans market strategy and product initiatives, and development of benefit programs that support an aggressive acquisition or divestiture strategy.
Clients include American Express, Blue Cross Blue Shield, CIGNA, Federal Reserve Bank System, GE, HSBC Bank USA, LVMH Moët Hennessy, New York Medical College, Oxford Health Plan, Pitney Bowes, Sotheby’s, United Technologies, Weil Gotshal & Manges, and Yale.
Prior to joining Hewitt, Harris held a number of positions over 28 years in benefits, including experience at insurance carriers, health plans and a prescription drug benefit manager.
Harris is a graduate of The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, N.M.
Joan McCarthy
Joan McCarthy is an assistant vice president and communication consultant in Aon Consulting's Organizational Communication Practice. She has more than 20 years experience in organizational communication, including strategic communication planning, implementation, and measurement.
McCarthy assists human resource teams from a variety of industries and cultures in achieving their business and human resource goals and communication objectives. Her clients include such organizations as GlaxoSmithKline, Charming Shoppes, EwingCole, and the American Board of Internal Medicine.
Her background includes experience in benefit communication, corporate public relations, internal communication, and marketing communication. Prior to joining Aon Consulting in 1998, she managed U.S. public relations for global insurance broker Sedgwick, was U.S. public relations manager for Noble Lowndes employee benefits consultants, and was a benefit communication consultant for The Johnson Companies, a regional benefits consulting firm.
McCarthy has spoken on "Strategies and Tactics for Easing Enrollment Pain," co-authored the workspan article on e-HR, "Searching for Treasure," and authored "Delivering Negative News: Balance, Not Spin, is Key," for the Charlotte Area Compensation Council newsletter (affiliated with WorldatWork). She has been active with the Penjerdel Employee Benefits and Compensation Association since 1998, serving as co-chairman of the Planning Committee for the PEBA Annual Forum from 2002 through 2004 and as a member of the Forum Planning Committee from 2000 to 2005. McCarthy won the International Association of Business Communicators Silver Quill award in 2002 and an APEX Award of Publication Excellence in 2005.
McCarthy holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Goucher College in Towson, Md.
Hilary Mitchell
Hilary Mitchell is the director of voluntary benefits programs Pitney Bowes Inc. In this capacity she is serving as the co-chairman of 2007 open enrollment.
Mitchell’s recent Pitney Bowes experience includes managing their in-house disability department. She was also the director of Pitney Bowe’s Employee Service Support Center, a shared human resource service center.
Mitchell has worked over 20 years in multiple areas the healthcare arena. Her previous experience includes direct delivery of healthcare, marketing health plans, and designing and purchasing healthcare for a fortune 500 company.
Mitchell holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Mount St. Mary College, and a Masters in Healthcare Administration from Iona.
