One City Built to Last

y amy m. armstrong
Providing
More than Just
Health Insurance
Last year’s federal failure in terms of
allowing even eligible Americans
to enroll online for Obamacare via
the health care exchange systems,
laid the groundwork for today's success of
Alaska’s largest Affordable Care Act enroller.
“We lost a lot of momentum with that,”
admits Joshua Weinstein, president of Northrim Benefits
Group, affiliated with Anchorage, Alaska's Northrim Bank.
“Yet, consequently, the success that comes out of it is that
we are the largest agency in the state of Alaska for individual
consumers wanting to enroll in health benefits under
the Affordable Care Act. We built a model that is lucrative
and sustainable for our firm around what, in industry standards,
I would consider a fairly meager commission on individual
health insurance products.”
Weinstein is referring to the “Enroll Alaska” division of
Northrim.
One year ago, as health insurers ramped up for
Obamacare enrollment, Northrim identified more than
100,000 individual Alaskans who would be income-eligible
for the federal subsidy being offered. Northrim had nearly
40 employees – including an “Enroll Alaska” division
Chief Operating Officer – all ready and willing to process
applications.
When the health care exchanges opened last October –
and technical glitch after technical glitch plagued the system
– Weinstein and his associates at Northrim were just
as, if not even more, frustrated than the consumers who
could not log on.
While the delays were admittedly discouraging, in hindsight
Weinstein sees blessings in disguise for Northrim. It
gave them the motivation they needed to up their game in
terms of customer service within the health care exchange
system.
“Not only do we help people get tax credits and manage
the policies that they have purchased on an individual
basis, but we also provide care advocacy, so if there are
claims issues or medical billing errors, we provide a full
wrap-around solution. That has become a great success
story, because people who are trying to navigate the insurance
marketplace do not have to do it alone – and they do
not have to pay more for that help when they work with
our ‘Enroll Alaska’ division,” Weinstein explains.
He adds that the experience taught the benefits group
he heads how to be nimble and flexible in the ever-changing
climate of regulatory, political and legislative priorities
surrounding health care.
It almost sounds like an over-used cliché, unless one
considers the monumental changes Obamacare presented
to the issuers of health care policies and the
employers purchasing them on behalf of employees.
Since its founding,
Northrim's mainstay
has been
providing
group benefits.
The “Enroll
Alaska”
THE SUIT MAGAZINE - NOV 2014