Benefits Management Updates
Employer resources for the enhanced benefits management tool
Blue Shield is upgrading our benefits management tool in Employer Connection Plus for small business employers. This page provides the information you need to take advantage of these enhanced capabilities.
Why are we upgrading the tool?
The new tool provides secure, reliable, and user-friendly features. Blue Shield and Benefitfocus worked together, with feedback from brokers and employers, to customize the tool to allow continued updates, enhancements, and capabilities to meet the evolving needs of our small business groups and brokers.
The current benefits management tool within EC+ will be retired in 2019.
Who will use the new tool?
Both group administrators and brokers will use the new member benefits management tool. Your login and access to EC+ will not change.
All Blue Shield groups that conduct benefits managements through EC+ will eventually use the new tool. Groups that use electronic data interchange (EDI) for benefits management, and SHOP groups that do not access benefits management through EC+ are not affected.
How can I access the tool?
Log in with the same login and password you always use.
When will groups access the tool?
Groups will begin accessing the new tool based on renewal dates:
Small Groups (1-100)
- January through June renewing groups will start accessing the new tool at the end of July.
- July and August groups, new and renewing, will start accessing the new tool in September.
- September to December renewing groups will start accessing the new tool in February 2019.
Large Groups (101+)
- April through August renewing groups will start accessing the new tool in September.
- All other groups will start accessing the new tool in February 2019.
What is changing?
Some features and functionality used to manage employees’ benefits will be different from what you have experienced using EC+. However, your access to managing your groups – the site and login information – will remain the same.
| New | Not new |
|---|---|
| The design and functionality of EC+ after logging in | How to log in and access your groups (same site, login, password) |
| The processes to manage benefits such as adding a dependent or changing a subscriber’s plan selection | You will still be able to manage benefits such as adding a dependent or changing a subscriber’s plan selection |
| Advanced reporting capabilities | Self-service census reports |
| Optimized for mobile devices | View transaction history |
What can the tool do?
- Enter new hires, process open enrollment, and manage qualifying event changes
- Terminate coverage for employees and dependents
- Change and update employee and dependent demographic information
- Change employee class or subgroup
- Generate reports including Employee Detail, Employee Census, Dependent Census, Transaction History, and many more
Some transaction types cannot be submitted through our benefits management tools. More information can be found here.