June 19, 2001
For Release: Immediate
HIP Health Plan of New York
Emerges as Leading Provider of Web Site Health Care Services
New York, N.Y. June 19 – HIP Health Plan of New York, acknowledged nationally as an industry leader in the application of health care information technology, today announced the redesign and launch of its new user-friendly, easy-access Web site, hipusa.com.
HIP members, physicians, employers, and brokers can access hipusa.com, a new and expanded customer service center, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Complete privacy and security are assured. HIP employees can also log onto HIP’s Intranet site to gain access to management and educational programs.
The redesign of HIP’s Web site, with the help of IBM, placed an emphasis on appealing visuals, navigation, interactive speed, and simplification. It is all part of HIP’s determination to remain in the forefront of health care innovation, including interactive use of the Internet to retain and attract membership. HIP will add additional interactive features in the near future.
Anthony L. Watson, Chairman & CEO: "HIP is constantly stretching its boundaries in all areas of operations, looking for better ways to provide access to the best medical care to be found anywhere. Technology is as important to our success as every other operation in which we are engaged. We are proud that our investment of time, money, and talent was recognized by InformationWeek. HIP was found to be among the nation’s leadership in the application of health care information. The publication reached its conclusions based on a study of how 24 national industries use information technology."
Daniel T. McGowan, President and COO: "Tony Watson and I agree that a good measure of credit for our success in technology and the financial benefits that it provides to our members and to HIP goes to the dedicated efforts of our technology team, headed by John Steber, Executive Vice President for Operations, and Chief Information Officer; and, Pedro Villalba, Vice President for Information Technology. HIP’s new, augmented Web site will help us to continue providing the best customer service to be found anywhere."
HIP was the first health insurance company to implement customized software and services to assess and evaluate the quality of care given to its members. HIP is currently pioneering the first-of-a-kind business intelligence solution fusing IBM’s Fraud and Abuse Management System (FAMS) technology with Symmetry Health Data Systems, Inc. and ProfSoft Inc. software to refine and assess provider performance.
These are among the Internet/Intranet services provided by HIP at its new hipusa.com Web site.
HIPUSA.Com – Members
Depending on their coverage, members can now interact with the HIP Web site in a variety of ways, including:
- finding a physician in HIP’s growing network;
- changing a primary care physician;
- filling a prescription through HIP’s online pharmacy service;
- reviewing claims and downloading forms;
- learning about HIP’s alternative medicine programs for acupuncture;
- examining HIP’s dental program and participating dentists;
- updating an address;
- requesting a replacement for a misplaced ID card;
- reading about HIP health tips and links to similar sites, press releases, and general information about HIP, including its annual report and financial statement, the HIP member newsletter; and,
- contacting HIP by e-mail. The privacy of email communication between HIP and its members is ensured by the latest Web security and encryption technology.
HIPUSA.Com – Providers
Physicians and other providers, starting June 30, will have a number of important capabilities. These include verifying member eligibility and viewing the status of claim submissions. By October, providing referrals and anticipated care will also be included. Meanwhile, HIP is preparing to announce the successful introduction of a new and convenient claim filing procedure for providers. To take advantage of the new service, providers can either directly or through their software vendor submit claims through WebMD, the largest electronic health care transaction vendor in the nation.
HIPUSA.COM– Employers
Employers can now access and update needed information, including eligibility data about employees, addresses, and telephone numbers to determine the need for updating. Early in July, HIP will bring the power of the Internet to help small businesses save time, money, and effort when setting up health plans for their employees.
HIPUSA.COM – Brokers
Here, brokers can learn why HIP is the natural choice in health care plans. With HIP’s new Instant Quote and Proposal Service, brokers can generate new business quotes and/or benefit summaries for a wide range of HIP HMO and POS plan designs. Also at their fingertips is standard proposal language for prospective and/or existing clients. Using these tools, brokers can quickly and simply compare as many different combinations of plan options as desired, and instantly generate a quote for each potential plan. Once they arrive at a plan that meets the needs of a prospective or existing client, they can create a proposal with just a few additional mouse clicks.
HIP’s Intranet
HIP has developed an Intranet to facilitate management. The HIP Intranet includes a fraud and abuse management program. It is also the home of HIP University, an extensive training program to empower employees to learn or sharpen their skills in the following areas:
- The Business of HIP, including knowledge and insight into HIP’s different departments;
- Management of health care, defining terms, conditions, and structures;
- Strategic Planning & Development; the role played by strategy in helping HIP to achieve its organizational goals.
- Health care law and its impact on the health care business; and,
- Ethics and the way its concepts impact decision-making.
HIP members can continue to call HIP’s Customer Service Department at 1-800-HIP-TALK (1-800-447-8255). The Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system provides information and requested materials 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Customer Service Advocates are available at the HIP TALK telephone number Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. For the hearing or speech impaired, the HIP telephone number is 1-800-447-4833.
About HIP
HIP is a mixed model HMO. With almost 800,000 members, it is the largest HMO in the New York metropolitan area. In Brooklyn, Staten Island, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk Counties, members obtain access to care in medical centers staffed by Medical Groups. In Manhattan, HIP provides access to care in medical centers through an alliance with Continuum Health Partners (Beth Israel, Roosevelt-St. Luke’s), Lenox Hill Healthcare Network. In the Bronx and Westchester County, access to care is provided through HIP’s alliance with Montefiore Medical Center and with St. Barnabas. HIP also provides an independent, wrap-around network of physicians in all its areas of operation. The network, which is growing, now has more than 15,000 physicians in 22,000 locations.
Contact: Ron Maiorana, Senior VP Public Affairs
rmaiorana@hipusa.com
