07/15/2011
New auto-reconciliation billing process planned for Regence group and Individual business
In April, we announced a planned change to our billing process to provide better service to groups and Individual subscribers. Now we're ready to roll it out. The new auto-reconciliation process will enable us to consistently provide a monthly bill regardless of payment reconciliation status. Below is the schedule for implementation of the new process:
- Most groups will be implemented by the end of July, starting with Sept. 1 bills.
- Individual subscribers and all remaining groups will be implemented by the end of August, starting with Oct. 1 bills.
- Medicare subscribers will be implemented by the end of September, starting with Nov. 11 bills.
How will members be notified of these changes?
We'll insert bill stuffers to notify groups and Individuals of the billing process change.
Group business
The following examples illustrate our current billing process compared to the new auto-reconciliation billing process for group business:
The scenario below demonstrates what happens under our new auto-reconciliation billing process if a group doesn't submit its payment within the 30-day timeframe:
Scenario #3 - No payment is received
- Billing statement is generated March 5 - 10: The April 1 bill is generated on March 5.
- No payment is received by April 1: Delinquency tracking begins.
- No payment is received by April 5: The April 1 bill is auto-reconciled on April 5 and remains unpaid (or reconciles as unpaid).
- Billing statement is generated immediately following auto-reconciliation: The May 1 bill will generate on April 5, reflecting payment due for April 1 and May 1. The group has a current and outstanding balance due for both April and May on the May 1 billing statement.
- No payment is received by April 7: We mail a delinquency billing reminder for the April 1 outstanding balance.
- No payment is received by April 15: The Group Accounts Receivable team places a phone call to the group regarding the April 1 outstanding balance.
- No payment is received by April 20: We mail a delinquency notice to the group for the April 1 outstanding balance (cc: to the producer and Regence sales representative).
- No payment is received by April 25: We mail a notice of cancellation to the group for the April 1 outstanding balance (cc: to the producer and Regence sales representative).
- No payment is received by April 28: The Group Accounts Receivable team places a second phone call to the group regarding the April 1 outstanding balance.
- No payment is received by April 30: The group is terminated from coverage. We mail a letter of termination to the group on May 1 (cc: to the producer and Regence sales representative), informing them that their last day of coverage was March 31 and explaining our reinstatement process.
To help your clients avoid delinquency due to late payment, please note the following:
- Each contract is "pre-paid." That means the monthly payment is due on or before the first of every month.
- If we don't receive payment by the bill's due date, we'll carry the balance forward to the next month's bill.
- The current bill will show any outstanding balances that are due from previous bills. The balance must be paid in full prior to the due date before any coverage changes can be made.
- If we don't have a record of receiving the payment due within the timeframe shown in the contract, we'll contact the customer via letter and a phone call to help them keep their account current and paid in full.
- If we still haven't received the payment within 30 days of the due date, we'll cancel the group or Individual policy according to the terms of the contract. But, we'll make every effort to work with you and your clients to ensure that this doesn't happen.
Individual business
The following details the auto-reconciliation billing process for Individual policyholders:
- If we don't receive payment by the first of the month, we'll send a notice of cancellation to the subscriber around the 10th of the month.
- If we don't receive payment by the end of the month, the subscriber will be terminated from coverage.
- We don't notify the sales representative or producer at any time during the process.
Thank you for your continued support. We hope this new process will provide a more consistent and timely billing process for your clients.
If you have any questions about the new billing process, please talk to your Regence sales contact.
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