Rush University Medical Center Expands Relationship with Benefitfocus

Benefitfocus, Inc. BNFT, a leading provider of cloud-based benefits software solutions, today announced that Rush University Medical Center has selected five additional Benefitfocus solutions to complement its BENEFITFOCUS® Marketplace platform. With new data analytics tools, IRS reporting services, custom video communication premium employee support resources and voluntary benefits consulting services, Rush will be able to better execute on its benefits strategy and drive greater value for its workforce of nearly 10,000. "Benefitfocus has been wonderful in helping our employees better understand their benefits and make informed decisions during enrollment," said Rush benefits manager Lori Rudnicki. "We wanted to take it a step further by having employees become even more engaged in their benefits and take more ownership and accountability for their healthcare. Benefitfocus' expanded offering was the obvious choice to give us the additional resources we need." Rush will take advantage of BENEFITFOCUS® Core Analytics to provide employees with data-driven benefits decision support. The application allows individual and benchmark healthcare claims data to be incorporated into Benefitfocus Marketplace's enrollment workflow. Employees can adjust their expected usage to predict out-of-pocket costs for each plan and compare side-by-side to determine which plan makes the most sense for their health and financial situation. On the administrative side, Core Analytics will allow Rudnicki and her team to easily monitor plan trends, evaluate plan performance and determine wellness program success so they can develop more impactful benefits strategies for the future. Benefitfocus will also help drive administrative efficiency by enabling Rush to quickly and accurately prepare, produce and deliver IRS Forms 1094-C and 1095-C. These annual forms track information – required for compliance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) – about the type of health coverage offered to eligible employees, the entity providing the coverage and which individuals are enrolled in coverage. Benefitfocus will aggregate and organize the necessary data through the Benefitfocus Marketplace, electronically transmit both forms with the IRS, and provide Rudnicki and her team with convenient access to bulk and individual reports. Employees will receive Form 1095-C electronically, with receipt confirmation, and on paper through Benefitfocus' fulfillment service. Additionally, the BENEFITFOCUS® Benefitstore service will help Rush deploy a comprehensive voluntary benefits strategy to support the health and financial needs of its employees. Benefitfocus will conduct a demographic analysis of the workforce to determine the appropriate mix of products – selected from a catalog of leading voluntary benefit providers – for Rush to offer. These products will then be integrated into Benefitfocus Marketplace's enrollment workflow so that employees can make decisions about supplemental coverage at the same time they're choosing core medical coverage. To further promote self-service and smart decision making, Rush will work with BENEFITFOCUS® Video and the BENEFITFOCUS® Benefits Service Center. Custom-produced video communication provides a convenient, easy-to-understand channel for employees to educate themselves on Rush's benefit offerings and wellness initiatives. Meanwhile, the Benefits Service Center acts as an extension of the Rush HR team, giving employees a go-to live resource for specific benefits questions and guidance. "As a leading healthcare provider, Rush understands the importance of fostering a culture of wellness in the workforce – physically, mentally and financially," said Benefitfocus CEO Shawn Jenkins. "That mission is at the core of what we do at Benefitfocus, and we're proud to deliver solutions that help organizations work smarter, not harder, so their employees can be healthier, happier and more productive."