The platform vs. custom software debate might not be as epic as Microsoft vs. Apple, Nintendo vs. PlayStation, or even Star Wars vs. Star Trek, but it is a comparison worth taking a closer look.

Fraud continues to be a problem for many state workforce agencies. Unemployment claims surged after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This rise in claims also saw a sharp increase in the number of fraudulent payments. The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced its distribution of $500 million to assist states with combating unemployment insurance (UI) fraud and equity challenges.

Employer’s number one concern during the pandemic is ensuring the safety of their employees. For most of the lockdowns, this meant changing workplace policies and enabling more work from home opportunities. Before the pandemic, only 6% of the U.S. workforce worked remotely, and over 75% had never completed work outside the office. During the peak period of lockdowns, 71% of the total U.S. workforce worked from home. These new measures cut down the risk of infection and improved the well-being of employees.

Digital modernization is a never-ending transformation journey. Beyond application modernization and digital integration, the journey requires agencies to challenge the status quo, experiment, adapt, and evolve.

This article was first published in the Association of Canadian Pension Management 2021 Issue 1 Newsletter.

2020 is being called the 'remote work year’ due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But recent surveys from PwC and Gartner show that many companies across multiple industries will move more of their employees to a remote environment over time.

This article was first published in the April release of Benefits and Pension Monitor.

Over the past few years, there has been a significant and noticeable shift in the pension and benefits industry when it comes to systems administering their plans. The demands of organizations have moved from looking for an administration system, or administrator, to a modernization approach. Not only has the shift moved in terms of terminology, but there has been a significant increase in demands to modernize. We, at Sagitec alone, have received more than double the demand for modernization projects in 2020 versus the same period in 2019. What has prompted this shift in wording, increase in demand, and what are the benefits of modernization?

Ever since the first mobile app was created in 1997 by Nokia (the popular arcade game snake) and popularized by Steve Jobs, phones have been increasingly using apps. However, some studies have shown that the number of available apps has begun to overwhelm users. A recent survey from Gartner found that 41% of mobile users have not downloaded a new app in the last six months and that mobile users spend 85% of their time on their phones using only five apps. This trend affects Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) and contributes to the growing problem of why engagement rates among members for mobile apps are down. With more than 1.96 million apps available on the app store, this ever-increasing trend is called app fatigue.

Rewards serve as the primary tool for Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) to incentivize healthy behaviors by their members. However, despite the investment some health plans put into these programs, they don’t always reach their intended goals. Rewards are used to promote healthy behavior to drive completion rates, but results are sometimes disappointing. If this has happened to your organization, don’t drop the idea of using rewards just yet. Instead, here are three ways you can create a rewards program that drive the results you want.

Getting ready for payer-to-payer data exchange as part of the CMS Interoperability mandate? If so, your priority as a payer is to address the need to aggregate your members' data from various former payers. While this mandate focuses on empowering members, it also makes payers rethink how member data needs to be aggregated and distributed. 

How can you get members to do what you need them to do? This is the number one challenge facing many Medicaid Health Organizations (MCOs). Member engagement is crucial for encouraging healthy activities that can improve outcomes and drive down costs for your organization. Plus, it’s the best way to make a positive impact in the lives of your members.