Human Resource Professionals Get Another Online Benefits Administration Choice

The days of paper blizzards associated with health plan renewals and other benefits enrollment projects may be coming to a close if the trend toward online administration services heats up.

A number of health insurers, technology companies and others are teaming up to provide online solutions for benefits administration. For employers that do not have the means or the desire to develop such systems internally, the number of outsourcing choices is steadily increasing.

The latest partnership involves Health Net, one of California's largest health plans, and BeneTrac.com. The two companies recently agreed to provide an Internet-based package for employer administration of health benefits programs.

Human resources departments can use the new product, called BeneHealth.Net, to electronically administer corporate benefits programs, including enrollment, member eligibility reporting and automated billing, the companies said.

However, BeneHealth.Net is available only through insurance brokers and benefits consultants. That may make it more attractive to small- and mid-sized employers, which typically purchase employee benefits through intermediaries.

"Through our close interaction with brokers and consultants, we knew that employers needed our assistance in developing an Internet-based solution for their benefits management needs," said David Anderson, vice president of commercial sales for Health Net in Northern California.

"BeneHealth.Net uses the latest technology to replace traditional, paper-based administration of employee benefits," added Terry Pita-Gordon, vice president of commercial sales for Health Net in Southern California. "In addition to billing and eligibility services, BeneHealth.Net provides instant access to benefit plan descriptions, employer reports and employee demographic data for all benefit plan carriers, not just Health Net."

BeneHealth.Net also enables HR departments to establish customized benefit plans; offer formerly paper-based enrollment on the Internet; use the Internet to update demographic data such as name, address or additional eligible family members; and calculate eligibility dates for new employees.

The service features state-of-the-art security to protect against unauthorized access to confidential information, added Jerry Hawthorne, chief executive of BeneTrac.com.

Founded in May 1999, BeneTrac.com provides online benefits administration and human resources administration software. The company is privately held by Hawthorne Benefit Technologies Inc. and based in San Diego. Health Net, a subsidiary of Foundation Health Systems Inc., has about 2.2 million members in California.