Electronic enrollment and maintenance can help your organization control and reduce your administrative costs. Below are the methods Blue Shield offers for you to conduct business with us electronically:

• Employer Connection Plus, a Blue Shield online enrollment system

• Direct submission with optional Employer Connection access
   

Contact your Blue Shield Representative to determine the option that works best for your group.

Employer Connection Plus, Blue Shield’s Online Enrollment System

Offered at no extra cost, Employer Connection Plus is Blue Shield's web-based billing and plan administration tool that enables employer groups (and their brokers) to securely manage their employee's Blue Shield benefits online. If your organization doesn’t already have a method for managing your employee enrollment data electronically, then we encourage you to register today!

• Manage your member roster with enrollments and terminations

• View and manage medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans* in a single place

• Create and download census and billing reports

• Conduct open enrollment online, with an option for employees to self-enroll

• View your Blue Shield invoice details

• Make one-time payments, or set up automatic payments

• Order Blue Shield medical member ID cards

• Grant additional user access to your Employer Connection account

*Underwritten by Blue Shield of California Life & Health Insurance Company.

Direct submission with Optional Employer Connection Access

Blue Shield allows employers or their third-party benefits administrators (TPA) to electronically submit enrollment data directly to Blue Shield at no extra charge. Direct submission is typically a good solution for employers who:

• Utilize a human resource information system (HRIS) to manage employee enrollment data, or
   
• Already utilize the services of a Web-based benefits enrollment vendor

To get started with direct electronic submission, your group simply needs:

• Enrollment data in one of our many acceptable file formats, including ANSI 834
   
• Electronic file transmission capabilities through SFTP
   
• Ability to submit files early in the enrollment process
   
• A technical and human resources point of contact for Blue Shield

How to Set Up an SFTP Connection

For employers (and vendors) who would like to set up an SFTP connection, please complete and submit the Trading Partner Form for Inbound Enrollment below. If you have questions completing this form, please contact the Electronic Enrollment team at Esquared@blueshieldca.com.

• Trading Partner Form for Inbound Enrollment (PDF, 62KB)

• SFTP FAQ (PDF, 65KB)

Employer Connection

As a complement to your direct submission method, Blue Shield offers secure online account-viewing capabilities via Employer Connection at no extra cost, which can be helpful for:

• Viewing Blue Shield’s source system to verify transmissions from your HRIS

• Conducting audits and / or reconciling your bill

• Obtaining employee listing by subscriber number

• Viewing plan benefit details, including eligibility rules and covered services, specific to your plan(s)

Once your direct submission method has been implemented, the primary contact for your organization can request access by easily registering for Employer Connection and clicking  "register now" on the Employer Connection homepage to get started.

Once activated, your group’s primary contact can then grant Employer Connection access rights to others within your organization, or even to your broker or TPA.

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* Underwritten by Blue Shield of California Life & Health Insurance Company.
** Not available to all groups.