Maestro Health launches updated benefit enrollment platform

Chicago-based benefits company Maestro Health has rolled out an updated version of its all-in-one HR platform.

Dubbed (me)BENEFITS ADMIN 2.0, it consolidates HR functions for employers while providing personalization for employees using the new program.

Most HR platforms require manual intervention, such as switching employees’ classifications and adding information after “qualified work events” that require an HR professional to change an employee’s benefits, like adding a new spouse of child to their coverage, says Nancy Reardon, chief product officer of Maestro Health.

Employers “want that to seamlessly happen on the backend,” she says. “The system is able to provide the rules that match their benefit plan.”

HR professionals named “disparate systems” as their biggest professional headache, with 27% saying they don’t want a benefits platform that doesn’t talk to their other systems, according to a Maestro Health survey.

The company aimed to update its previous system by simplifying the system for both employers and employees.

On the employee-interfacing side, the system will generate one of a dozen stock photos that best represent a worker using his profile.

For example, a single father of two might see a photo that represents his family dynamic when entering the employee portal.

The personalization continues with utilization, especially around decision support tools.

See also: Employers slow to incorporate benefits technology

“I consider myself a very educated consumer,” says Reardon. “What drives me crazy is I’m expected to go through the same door of someone who looks at [benefits] once a year. Give me a different door, meet me where I am. Let me choose.”

The system prompts users to choose what’s important to them, such as seeing if their doctor is in network, taking a quiz to find the right plan or going straight to the plan offerings.

The system then aggregates the plans and breaks down estimated premiums and employee contributions to determine total cost.

Employees can add their spouse or dependents, and the numbers will update to reflect those changes; side-by-side comparisons of each plan are also available on the platform.

Maestro Health’s algorithm will also automatically add an HSA account if an employee decides to enroll in a HDHP, which will then provide a contribution calculator.

While the updated system is live for new clients, employers that use a previous version of the system have the option of rolling the new system out at their own pace, says Reardon.

“Technology doesn’t lose all of your problems,” she says. “You need to have someone on the other end to help you through it.”

The system costs range from $3 to $6 per eligible employee per month, depending on complexity, employer size and if multiple products are purchased, according to Maestro Health. The company also charges a one-time implementation fee.