Looking Back and Going Forward
As I revisited my version of this article from the prior year it really struck me the consistent themes in our business:
- Pride in our people
- Pride in our model
- Desire to continue to refine and improve
- Concern the RBP industry is losing its focus on the mission
- Excitement over the many great relationships we are building with clients and brokers that understand why we are different and why it’s important
Last year I highlighted how ClaimDOC continues to deviate from the vendor pack by focusing on doing the hard work to create a sustainable plan and I’ll do my best not to beat that differentiator drum (you should be hearing it from our sales team on a regular basis). I will hopefully have some fresh thoughts regarding the industry and insights into ClaimDOC.
Let’s start with the broker community. Building out an exceptional and experienced sales team with a full year of conversations is taking us into unchartered territory. My time selling was mostly with distribution partners that arrived at our door via mutual relationships. They knew what we did and their ability, interest, and motivation aligned with ours. What I didn’t fully appreciate is how rare that is. There are many willing to talk about RBP, however, the ones with the courage to go against the grain are not common. The lack of consultative direction by a great number of brokers handing their clients massive renewals heading into 2022 was extremely telling. I have challenged my sales team to be more discerning with who they spend their time with in 2022. Always be willing to educate someone interested in learning, however, let’s not spend time with someone not interested in selling.
I can’t help myself, let’s talk about the competition. Why is everyone out there trying to be what they despise, a PPO? And bad ones on top of it. Using a network on the physician side if you are supporting it with a robust provider nomination process (shameless plug for ClaimDOC Pave the Way) makes sense. For those clients and brokers interested in sustainability, this focus on facility contracts is terrible. You are sacrificing financial savings to solve the issue of access. You can have both, but it requires working with a vendor willing to do the hard work of solving access (shameless plug for Pave the Way) without contracts unless it’s necessary. We will always be a boutique provider of RBP because of our fundamental belief in solving problems in the best interest of the clients we serve. Access gets solved through a strategic evaluation and review of alternatives from provider education to single patient agreements and then the last resort is a contract. A big win for ClaimDOC this year was hiring Brad Hansen as our Vice President of Provider Relations. Brad was previously a hospital administrator and his approach to working with and developing relationships with providers has made a huge impact. Our program improved with his input and our clients are benefiting greatly from his participation in evaluating each of the unique situations we work through.
My question on why competitors are so focused on becoming PPO’s is of course rhetorical. I wrote about the influence of private equity last year. I’m not prophetic. Everyone knows private equity is driven by the pursuit of maximizing profits. Staffing and executing on solving problems through hard work and customer service will never get board approval. At ClaimDOC we don’t just imagine customer satisfaction, we deliver it.
It’s almost hard to say, because it’s admittedly unbelievable, but our retention rate in 2021 was 96%. This is a direct reflection of the talented and hard-working team here at ClaimDOC. While we have many outstanding leaders, the real stars in our company continue to be those that take care of members. They are what makes us unique and special within RBP. We have heard others have unsuccessfully tried to duplicate our Pave the Way program. We could share all our handbooks and operating procedures and I still don’t think anyone is capable of what our crew does. They genuinely care about giving the members a great experience and show up every day ready to win. Speaking of showing up to work, have I mentioned we have a new headquarters?
In June we moved into a new corporate headquarters. In late 2020 we purchased a 30,000 square foot abandoned fitness facility and after a six-month demo and renovation, we moved into our new home. The building was a big investment in our people and our clients complete with an arcade, a fitness room, and an indoor sports court. Giving our people an amazing place to work is a way to ensure they will be comfortable and motivated to continue to give members a great experience. Many companies talk about their culture and believe it exists because of the words on the mission statement. We have something better, we have amazing team chemistry. Brokers and clients that have visited our office continue to be blown away by what they experience. Sure the office is new and fresh, but what blows them away is the level of expertise and passion that creates an unmistakable positive vibe throughout the building. The sales team is encouraged to get their brokers and clients onsite in 2022, so maybe you’ll get to see for yourself. I’d also suggest you follow us on LinkedIn to get a peek inside the office life at ClaimDOC.
So back to that retention rate of 96%. In 2021 I heard more reasons than ever why clients weren’t going to go with RBP. Our retention rate tells a completely different story for those of you that still believe it can’t be done successfully with satisfied plan sponsors and members. What that tells me is clients and brokers are getting soured by bad experiences with other vendors. We sold a 250 life group for 1/1 with a Top 100 broker in the southeast and that broker placed another client with a competitor. Two weeks into the plan year, he reached out and said he messed up and should have gone with ClaimDOC. That other client loves the concept of RBP but was upset with the lack of service and plans to move back to the Blues in 90 days. The broker summarized it with the fact he puts 40 hours into the other plan for every one minute he spends on the ClaimDOC client. The method to our madness has been developed by being immersed in the solution. We are an outcomes-based cost-containment solution with extraordinary attention to member service and client satisfaction.
Other companies might be bigger, they might have flashy marketing and theoretical concepts, but none of them have an owner that is prouder of his people and the effort they give to make RBP successful. 2022 is going to be another great one and we hope you are part of it with us.