Industry Leaders Create Standards to Enable Consistent, Efficient and Accurate Enrollment Process
Benefitfocus, Inc. , a leading cloud-based benefits management platform and services provider, announced its role in the development of the first data exchange standards focused on post-enrollment data for the employee benefits market not governed by HIPAA. LIMRA, the trade association supporting research and solutions for the financial services industry, developed the standards with the input of Benefitfocus and other leading insurance carriers and benefits administration companies.
The LIMRA Data Exchange Standards (LDEx) are designed to standardize the data exchanged between insurance carriers and benefits administration technology companies for non-HIPAA employee benefits. With LDEx integration, Benefitfocus steps beyond its industry leading data integration and quality standards of 99.8%+ accuracy to reduce errors, drive consistency and streamline the process.
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Benefitfocus is an early adopter and thought leader participating on the LIMRA Data Exchange Standards Committee. As a data integration leader, Benefitfocus partnered with ACORD, the global standards-setting body for the insurance and related financial service industries, on its data exchange standards.
“We are proud for the opportunity to lead the industry into the digital era by supporting the LDEx standards in a fashion that accelerates modernization of carrier integrations with the highest levels of data accuracy,” said Ray August, President & CEO of Benefitfocus. “We believe that participating in this process validates our position as a leader in providing the most advanced, reliable and effective technological solutions for the financial services industry.”
These standards mirror Benefitfocus’ corporate vision to shift from physical files to APIs and web services. The LDEx integration will reduce implementations from months to minutes, will eliminate data errors that are prevalent in file-based integrations, and will ensure real-time alignment between all source systems. These standards will also ensure that implementation processes will be reusable across multiple partners without modification, resulting in a streamlined and more efficient implementation.
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LIMRA
LIMRA has served as a research and education source for the financial services industry for more than 100 years and now works to create shared solutions in partnership with the industry to address common industry concerns. LIMRA responded to the growing need for accurate, cost-effective data management.
LIMRA’s Data Exchange Standards Committee supported the development and testing of these standards. In addition to benefits administration providers such as Benefitfocus, the participating insurance companies represent 90% of the inforce non-medical workplace benefits market.
According to LIMRA, the first version of LDEx, Benefits Enrollment Management 1.0, will allow benefits administration technology companies to send coverage elections, changes and terminations, as well as non-coverage demographic changes to a carrier in a consistent XML format. Supported products include all life products, accidental death and dismemberment, critical illness, cancer, accident, dental, vision, hospital indemnity and short and long-term disability products.
Enhancements are planned for these standards over the next two years to allow companies to receive eligibility/employment information needed for service administration and reporting; enable carriers to send evidence of insurability decisions to update coverage; and permit carriers to send leave administration details to time management systems.
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