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Modernizing the UTS Benefits Eligibility and Enrollment System

Organization Overview

The University of Texas (UT) system is one of the largest public university systems in the U.S. The Office of Employee Benefits, an office under the Business Affairs arm of UT System, is responsible for the administration of benefits for 14 academic and medical institutions. From faculty members to health care professionals, researchers and support staff, a diverse group of more than 134,000 UT system employees and retirees are covered under the system.

Challenge

The University of Texas System (UTS) was having ongoing discussions to evolve its benefit program as the team desired to be a model for higher education benefits on the national level as well as deliver a better experience for its members. However, the aging, legacy mainframe enrollment system that it had relied on for 26 years hindered the ability to be more innovative in its approach and was being decommissioned. 

Solution

Following a rigorous RFP process, UTS ultimately chose to outsource, selecting Benefitfocus as its partner to modernize its eligibility and enrollment system with an approach to implement its 14 academic and medical institutions in three phases. The cloud-based, software-as-a-service model of the Benefitfocus platform enabled UTS to configure and scale its system to accommodate 16 separate instances – one for each institution along with system administration and the Office of Employee Benefits. The Office of Employee Benefits administers the retiree and COBRA billing and enrollment functions on behalf of the 14 institutions.

The intuitive user interface and the dedicated Benefitfocus customer success team allowed for easier knowledge transfer as 60 percent of the Employee Benefits staff became eligible for retirement within a year of implementation. Two staff members also had the opportunity to take on the more strategic role of data analysts as the Benefitplace solution automated a significant amount of the benefits-related tasks.

Results
  • Strategic resource realignment
  • 84,732 benefit elections
  • 80.7% satisfaction rating

Another reason that drove UTS to select Benefitfocus was not only their experience with large government and education clients, but also its commitment to innovation.

"One of the things that was most impressive to us was the enormous commitment Benefitfocus has to research & development.” Executive Director, Office of Employee Benefits, The University of Texas System

In addition to streamlining administration and reducing the strain on its shrinking team, Benefitplace also delivered the modern member experience that has made UTS a true national model for higher education programs. The step-by-step enrollment workflow with integrated decision support and educational videos empower employees as well as retirees to make more informed benefit elections for themselves and their families.

Download the full case study to learn more about how UTS partnered with Benefitfocus to modernize and simplify benefits administration and enrollment.