VBA User Conference – Presentations Now Available!
Thank you to everyone who attended the 2023 VBA Connect and Engage User Conference in Milwaukee last month. We hope you enjoyed the event. In case you missed it, all the presentations from the event are now posted on the Client Resource Center here. If you have any questions, please reach out to your VBA Account Executive.
Product Updates and Industry News
From the desk of Jessica Lockhart – EVP of Sales & Marketing
I want to start off by extending a thank you to all the clients who took time out of their busy schedules to attend VBA’s Third Annual Connect and Engage User Conference in Milwaukee. We appreciate your candid questions, feedback and ideas, which helped to make the event meaningful and memorable for all of us.
Next Year’s VBA Connect and Engage User Conference
For those of you that could not join us this year, know that you were missed. We are already planning next year’s event, which will be held in August 2024. The exact dates of the event will be announced in December. We hope by providing the dates and location for the event before the end of the year, it will give you enough time to plan your attendance in 2024. We want to see you there!
We were excited to see so many of you connecting with your peers and sharing your experiences, best practices and success stories related to VBA’s technology at this year’s user conference. It’s not surprising that much of the feedback we received about the conference was around providing the ability to continue to tap into the knowledge of your peers.
One of the ways VBA will help everyone stay connected is through a NEW Online Community Forum that will act as an extension of the Client Resource Center (CRC). Have a question and did not find the answer within the CRC Knowledge Articles? You’ll be able to post a question to the Client Community Forum for your peers or VBA experts to weigh in. Questions and responses will be used to help build out an FAQ for everyone to reference. Keep an eye out for additional details coming soon.
Client Resource Center Makeover – Coming Soon
Speaking of the Client Resource Center, we will be consolidating and reorganizing content to make finding what you’re looking for easier and faster than ever before. When these changes are completed, you will see a new, updated home page for easy navigation.
We are also organizing content by solution type so you can find related articles and content with just a few clicks. Under each solution you will find recent release notes, documentation, reference materials, webinar recordings and more. At the bottom of each article on the CRC you will see a brief form where you can give us feedback about the content you’re viewing and your experience using the resource center. We look forward to hearing your feedback about these changes!
Keeping the Pulse of Market Trends: AI and You
Everywhere you look, everyone is talking about AI. It is at the forefront of every conversation, especially within the healthcare delivery and technology markets. That’s why AI technology was a featured session at the VBA user conference. Click here to watch the session and find out how VBA will be using this technology.
VBA will be continuing the discussion on AI and its role in the TPA market at the SIIA National Conference, October 8-10 in Phoenix. Matt Salerno, Software Architect at VBA will be joining a panel discussion on the Artificially Intelligent TPA on Tuesday, October 10 at 10:15 AM. If you’re planning to be at SIIA, please check out Matt’s presentation and visit with the VBA team in Booth 709. Mike Clayton, Rachel Lanser, Mike Tuomey and Georgeann Seuffert will all be in attendance.
How VBAnalytics Can Help You Keep Up with Market Trends
At VBA we want to make sure you are in the know about the latest market trends and regulatory updates, which is why we post them on the Client Resource Center. We also want to make it easy for you to use your VBA solutions to track how your population is performing against those trends. Continue reading to learn how you can use VBAnalytics to do just that.
It’s probably no surprise that GLP-1 drug spend has spiked now that its use has been extended beyond diabetes management to things like weight loss management.
Did You Know?
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In 2022, Medicaid spent over $1 billon on GLP-1 drugs. Read more about it here.
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VBA clients spent over $15 million on GLP-1 drugs last year.
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So far in 2023, VBA clients have seen an increase of over $5 million dollars compared to last year, with a total drug spend of over $20 million on GLP-1 drugs – and the year is not over yet.
*Information is based on active VBAnalytics users and clients who report drug detail data.
Curious to learn how your drug data is trending against these statistics and how much of VBA’s total client spend is within your book of business?
VBA has made it even easier to check your spending on a specific drug in VBAnalytics, using our NEW drug name search feature at the top of the Rx Detail Report. Just enter in the generic or brand name of the drug and press enter to see your results.
Be sure to check out the latest articles related to healthcare costs within the Industry News and Updates section of the Client Resource Center:
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Employers’ health care expenses trending upward (Click here to read more)
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Fully-insured plan enrollees have lower health care spending (Click here to read more)
New VBAGateway Portal User Profile Reports
Speaking of data and trends, look for the new VBAGateway Portal User Profile Report in the next release. This new report provides insight into:
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Users who have opted in and out of text and email notifications for VBAVoice Notifications
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Users who have who have enabled two-factor authentication and which type
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Users who have opted in for electronic EOB delivery
In addition, the report provides a complete list of portal users, including first and last name, member ID, portal username, registered phone number and email address, and the date the user registered for the portal. All of this data comes in a snapshot report that can be exported to Excel with just one click.
This report will deliver an even greater understanding of who and how to reach out to your end users to support your marketing and communication efforts.
The Latest VBAGateway Portal Redesign Updates
Here is a sneak peek at the latest VBAGateway portal redesign updates. These updates will be made available for production as part of the November release. If you would like to see the latest updates in your test portal, contact your dedicated Account Executive for access.
Plans are organized in a tab view with a dropdown list to select each member.
Redesigned view for out-of-pocket maximums.
Reorganized member resources section.
Here are some additional features that will be included in the next release:
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Benefit tracker to track benefits that have dollar and visit limits, such as chiropractic, physical therapy, vision, dental and more
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New claims search screen
Did you know that portal feedback surveys are available for the member and provider portals?
Portal Marketing Materials for Your End Users
Many of our clients have asked for assistance with marketing materials to promote adoption of your portals and highlight the functionality that is available. VBA is in the process of creating a marketing toolkit which will contain template emails, letters and other collateral you can use with messaging tailored specifically for your end users.
We will start with the member and provider portals and will eventually develop materials for all portals. If you have any suggestions about what types of materials would be helpful, please reach out to your VBA Account Executive.
As you can see, we have a lot going on here at VBA and we are always looking for ways to enhance our products and improve our services. Thanks for reading and please reach out if you have suggestions or feedback.
Operations
From the desk of Rachel Lanser – Chief Client Officer
I want to start off by thanking all of you who attended the 2023 VBA Connect and Engage User Conference in Milwaukee last month. Our entire team here at VBA is still talking about how wonderful it was to meet you all in person after working with you for so many years. We are so grateful that you carved out some time in your busy lives to spend a few days with us.
If you did not attend, I hope you will check out the presentation recordings on the Client Resource Center here. Lots of useful information for you to share with your teams.
More Learning Labs Planned
It has been our goal to start a recurring virtual learning lab for some time now, and the User Conference confirmed that there is a need with all seats filled during all four learning labs at the event. We also saw many of our clients gathering at other places throughout the event to share ideas and processes that work best for them. We clearly see that we have an opportunity to provide ongoing training and create a collaborative forum for our clients. And that is exactly what we plan to do.
We will be starting recurring learning labs this fall. We will also create a process to gather feedback and determine other topics that you would like us to cover in future learning labs. We look forward to hearing your thoughts on how we can better support your needs with future enhancements. Keep an eye on your email inbox for more updates.
Fall is just around the corner, and I am looking forward to some beautiful fall weather. Hope you enjoy it as well!
Did You Know?
Tips & Tricks from VBA
How You Can Leverage the Notes Feature in VBASoftware
VBASoftware users have the flexibility to add notes in various locations. These notes can help you communicate information to other VBASoftware users or maintain additional documentation related to a record in VBASoftware.
How the Notes Function Works:
Notes are located throughout the VBASoftware application.
Whenever this icon is visible, it means there is a note for that section.
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Right click in the section with the icon and select “View Notes” from the context menu to view the available note.
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Notes can be categorized based on user-defined Note Types that can be associated with multiple, pre-defined Note Category Types.
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To emphasize the importance or urgency of a note, you can assign user-defined Note Priorities.
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Users also have the option to attach documents or pictures to a note for further information.
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Notes can be assigned to specific system users, who will receive notifications accordingly.
Click here to read the Notes Configuration document on the Client Resource Center and learn more about the Notes feature in VBASoftware.
Meet the Team
Professional History:
Rachel joined VBA in November 2021 as a Solution Consultant. She was promoted to Manager of Business Services – Solutions in 2022 and was promoted to Director of Client Solutions in May 2023. She is responsible for ensuring our clients have a positive experience from implementation through ongoing support. The Solution Consultants and Client Support team members report to Rachel.
Her career spans over 20 years in third-party administration. Prior to joining VBA, she was the Vice President of Technical Operations at Benefit Management, LLC. In that position, Rachel led the information technology and operations support teams with a focus on implementing new business while streamlining processes to maximize business efficiency and profitability.
Rachel Cell
Director of Client Solutions
On a Personal Note:
Outside of work, Rachel spends her time with her husband, son, daughter, dog and many roaming farm cats. She enjoys cheering her kids on in sports, watching reality TV shows and improving her talent for juggling.
Release Notes
Make sure to share our release notes and videos with your team members to ensure all VBA users are up to date.
July
August
July
August
July
August
August
As a reminder, VBA schedules up to 10 releases a year to ensure our clients have the latest software without the wait. You can access the release schedule here in the Client Resource Center.
Here are the planned release dates for 2023:
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September 29 – VBA
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November 3 – Client
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December 8 – VBA
Upcoming Conferences and Events
We will be participating in the following events:
Oct. 8-10, 2023
SIIA Annual Conference
Phoenix, AZ
Oct. 23-25, 2023
California Association of Health Plans Annual Conference
Palm Desert, CA
Nov. 6-8, 2023
TAHP Texas Covered Conference & Expo
Houston, TX
Here We Grow Again!
Promotions
Application Services Team
Josh Coats
Software Engineer
Rick Fox
Senior Software Engineer
Christian Heatwole
Senior Software Engineer
John Klotz
Senior Software Engineer
Client Experience Team
Anita Gegner
Client Support Specialist II
Data Developers Team
Dave Ostrenga
Director of Data Services
Integration Services Team
Amy Druecker
Data Integration Analyst II
Operations Support Team
Bryan Johnvin
Operations Support Specialist II
Vasu Saigopal
Operations Support Specialist II
New Hires
Architecture Team
Ryan Clifton
Software Architect
Client Experience Team
Neil Ochs
Solution Consultant - Support
Data Analyst Team
Lee Collins
Data Integration Analyst
Nikki McGill
Data Integration Analyst
Data Developer Team
Michael Messer
EDI Developer
Leo Saenz
EDI Developer
Implementation Team
Rob Davis
Implementation Manager
Francine Thompson
Implementation Manager
Operations Support Team
David Sayavong
Operations Support Specialist
Product Experience Team
Jessica Collins
Business Analyst
Webinars
VBA Application Release Reviews
We held our July Release Review on Friday, July 28. If you were unable to attend, the recorded session can be found here.
The August Release Review was canceled. Please refer to the release notes for details about this release.
VBA Webinars
Join the Real-Time Revolution with APIs: Advice from the Experts, featuring Matt Salerno, Software Architect at VBA and Nirab Pant, Data Engineer at Angle Health on July 13, 2023. If you were unable to attend, the recorded session can be found here.
Presentations from the 2023 VBA Connect and Engage User Conference are now available on the Client Resource Center. If you were unable to attend or would like to watch the sessions again, they can be found here.
Client Resource Center Updates
Check out the latest materials that were posted to our Client Resource Center:
Holiday Schedule
The VBA offices will be closed on the following days in observance of the following holidays:
Friday, November 10
Veterans Day
Thursday, November 23 and Friday, November 24
Thanksgiving Holiday
Tell us what you think!
Your opinion is important to us so we can continue to enhance our products and improve your experience.
Ready to share?
Send your feedback to [email protected].
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