- Total Economic Impact Study finds health plan reduced costs, improved customer experience and increased business flexibility
A commissioned Total Economic Impact study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Benefitfocus concluded that the Benefitplace single platform solution improves data quality and automates processes across the ecosystem, allowing health plans to reduce costs by millions of dollars and improve operating flexibility to adapt to unexpected market trends and changing customer demands. Benefitfocus is an industry-leading benefits technology platform that simplifies benefits administration for health plans, employers and brokers.
The findings come from a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting, one of the most influential research and advisory firms in the world, on behalf of Benefitfocus and published in March 2021, examining the benefits that health plans may realize by deploying Benefitplace, Benefitfocus’ single platform solution. To better understand the impact associated with this investment, Forrester interviewed a health plan that uses Benefitplace. The U.S.-based organization serves about 2 million members and boasts more than $3.5 billion in annual revenue.
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“With the implementation of Benefitplace, the health plan was able to reallocate administrative budget and resources to market differentiating initiatives, often around better meeting customer needs,” the study concludes. “Through improved flexibility and agility from the Benefitplace platform, the health plan increased their resilience and improved their ability to withstand whatever the future might bring.”
Among the key findings for quantified benefits:
- Retiring legacy systems avoided $6.3 million in IT development costs.
- Moving enrollment and billing online saved $1.4 million in paper and postage.
- Process automation combined with improved data quality increased operational efficiency, saving $1.1 million in resource costs.
- Standardized data feeds and error resolution functionality improved scalability, saving $0.6 million in avoided headcount.
Additionally, the study found the Benefitplace platform delivered:
- Higher Net Promoter Scores (NPS) from improved customer experience.
- Improved business flexibility and agility.
- Confidence and reliability through partnership.
- Learnings from advisory councils, creating a unique problem-solving environment.
After reviewing costs, including implementation, managed service fees (adoption services, hosting and security, and maintenance) and internal labor, the TEI study showed this health plan saved at least $9 million over three years.
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The TEI Study Framework and Methodology
Forrester took a multistep approach to evaluate the impact that Benefitplace can have on an organization:
- Due Diligence: Forrester analysts interviewed Benefitfocus stakeholders and Forrester analysts gathered data relative to Benefitplace.
- Customer Interview: They interviewed decision-makers at the health plan using Benefitplace and obtained data with respect to benefits, costs, and risks.
- Financial Model Framework: They constructed a financial model representative of the interviewees’ experiences with Benefitplace.
- Case Study: Forrester employed four fundamental elements of TEI in modeling the investment impact: benefits, costs, flexibility, and risks. Given the increasing sophistication of ROI analyses related to IT investments, Forrester’s TEI methodology provides a complete picture of the total economic impact of purchase decisions.
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