Without an effective web strategy, health plans will not succeed in the consumer driven market. One health plan executive reported that web services are "table stakes" when you are selling consumer driven plans to employers.

Our speakers: Gary M. Austin, Director IT Strategy and Health Management Systems, at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts; Kim Bellard, VP, eMarketing and CRM at Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield; and Jim Hansen, Director, Research and Emerging Practices at First Consulting Group, share their experiences on how their organizations are using web services for their consumer driven plans.

You'll get details on:

• e-based strategies and decision support tools for consumers;
• how IT products can be used to educate consumers about their coverage;
• current technology capabilities and future systems;
• e-health and consumerism;
• driving adoption rates; and
• ensuring customer satisfaction.

Who Will Benefit from this audio-conference?

CEOs, CFOs, product managers, marketing directors, benefits managers, managed care and insurance companies, hospitals, physician groups and ancillary providers, pharmaceutical companies and PBMs, and IT vendors.

Speaker Biographies:

Gary M. Austin is the Director of Health Management Systems Delivery at BlueCross BlueShield of Massachusetts. Since joining the company in 2002, Gary has served as both Director of IT Strategy as well as Director of IT Strategy and Architecture. In his current position as Director of Health Management Systems Delivery, Gary is responsible for the oversight and delivery of all health management systems supporting utilization, disease, case, and population management. He also co-chairs the corporate eCommerce Steering Committee, and serves on the Diversity Committee and Senior Management Committee.

Gary Austin

Kim Bellard is Vice-President, eMarketing & CRM for Highmark Inc., a licensed affiliate of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Joining Highmark in January 1999, Mr. Bellard’s primary responsibility is developing new generations of products and services for Highmark aimed at a consumer driven market. He led the development of BlueChoice, the nation’s first fully online, customizable health insurance program. BlueChoice was introduced in May 2000, and continues to be expanded and enhanced. It is part of a broad Consumer Centered product portfolio and strategy for which Mr. Bellard is responsible. BlueChoice has received national attention and awards for its innovation. Mr. Bellard’s unit also developed, and has ongoing responsibility for both the Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield and the Pennsylvania Blue Shield websites. These include consumer portals, employer portals, and agent/visitor portals. The consumer sites offer members access to numerous self-service features, as well as to a variety of personalized content and services for their health and wellness needs. They have received several national awards.

Kim Bellard

Jim Hansen is currently a director in the Emerging Practices group, First Consulting Group’s (FCG) applied research arm. Emerging Practices is charged with keeping clients and the company abreast of industry and technology trends, and with developing intellectual capital and tools for use in client engagements. While at FCG, he has directed a wide variety of both research and delivery oriented projects, including market research, strategy, tactical planning, product development, system selection, and system development initiatives. Most recently, he led a team in the development of the award-winning Next Generation Health Plan road map, as well as co-authored IT related articles in American Association of Health Plan (AAHP) magazine.

Jim Hansen