bswift Executives Participate in Utah Health Exchange Symposium.

Executives from bswift addressed 79 top policy officials from 30 states at a state health exchange symposium in Salt Lake City hosted by Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert and members of his Utah Health Exchange team.

The Company noted the officials came to learn how the state of Utah has built and operated its Health Exchange, an operational exchange. Key private sector partners in the Utah Health Exchange, including bswift, the Exchange's technology platform provider, also participated in the Symposium.

In his remarks, bswift Executive Vice President Raymond Seaver emphasized two critical factors in the development of efficient and viable health exchanges:

1) Involvement of experienced private-sector partners who understand the administrative challenges and complexities of building an exchange; and

2) Use of an employer-based exchange model, such as the Small Business Health Option (SHOP) exchange defined in the 2010 health care reform legislation, in addition to the widely discussed individual exchange model, i.e. the American Health Benefits Exchange (AHBE).

"Shopping for health insurance on the Internet is much more complicated than buying a plane ticket or a hotel room," Seaver explained, "because there are myriad rules governing enrollment and eligibility that need to be built into the online exchange system. That's why it's so critical for state governments to partner with experts such as bswift rather than trying to build the technology themselves. What we've learned in Utah is that the user friendliness of the shopping experience will always be important, but there are numerous complex back-end processes and administrative functions that need to be worked out amongst multiple stakeholders - including employees, employers, brokers and carriers - in order to enable the consumer to shop and obtain coverage."

In her remarks, Patty Conner, director of the Utah Health Exchange, stressed the advantages of leveraging the existing capabilities of private sector companies to launch and operate an exchange, both from an economic and technological perspective.

"Utah is a national model for other states who are interested in building their own exchanges, either to comply with new federal laws or as a way of making insurance more accessible," noted Conner.

"Utah's defined-contribution model is proving effective in enabling employers to provide funding for health care, while transitioning 'ownership' of the health insurance purchase to consumers," said Seaver. In the Utah model, employers give employees a specific amount of money to purchase health care insurance on the Utah Health Exchange and to choose from four carriers and more than 100 plans.

"As a key Utah Health Exchange technology partner, bswift is proud to support the launch of this model," says Rich Gallun, bswift CEO. "We foresee that most of our clients will eventually participate in health exchanges in one way or another, so we have a vested interest in helping them through this transitional period and in helping other states develop solutions that can be operationalized quickly and effectively to help their constituents."

Based in Chicago, bswift offers software and services that streamline HR and benefits administration.

More information:

bswift.com

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