Usage of HumanaAccess Card Grows Nationwide

“Empowered.”

This is how 70 percent of Humana associates who were surveyed said they feel as a result of using the HumanaAccess card, according to a recent survey conducted by Humana of its employees.

Continuous member feedback such as this is used to shape HumanaAccess card enhancements and drive the card’s usability for members and providers across the country.

“We hear from our members who use the HumanaAccess card, and we’re using their feedback to improve the card program and our education to members and providers,” said Benjamin Slen, product manager for the HumanaAccess program.

Members were also asked to rate their family’s overall experience using the card. Eighty percent of those who used the card ranked the experience favorably, scoring the program a four or five, with five being the highest score.

New enhancements
In January 2005, providers began to see a new addition to the HumanaAccess card family — a separate HumanaAccess card that has direct linkage to members’ Health Savings Accounts (HSA).

“This new card is in addition to the card we announced in the summer of 2004,” said Slen. “It looks similar but has different colors — dark blue and black — to identify it as an HSA card.”

As previously reported in the summer 2004 issue of Humana’s YourPractice, the HumanaAccess card underwent a redesign to provide dual functionality and to make it easier for members to access their Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and Personal Care Account (PCA) funds. The card also functions as medical identification for members enrolled in Humana medical plans with PCA or FSA options. Since its redesign, the card is much easier to read.

For additional member and provider convenience, January 2005 also marked the start of a new program that allows members to use the FSA/PCA HumanaAccess card to purchase over-the-counter drugs through Humana’s pharmacy partnerships.

“It’s good to know that [financial] convenience is there for members when providers recommend over-the-counter drugs,” Slen said.

Growing use of the card
“We began issuing combined HumanaAccess Visa cards in the market to consumers covered by Humana insurance in October 2004,” Slen said. “We’re adding several new large group and national account customers from around the country, so the card will truly be coast-to-coast in 2005.”

For the first time, small and midsized groups will receive the card during a cross-country rollout in 2005 via Humana’s new product, SmartExpress. The product launched in Louisiana in December 2004 and is expanding in 2005 to small and midsized groups in several states, including:

• Illinois
• Ohio
• Kentucky
• Texas (January 2005)

For more information about SmartExpress, contact your provider relations representative.

FSA and PCA card differentiators
Providers are reminded that the following characteristics differentiate Humana’s FSA and PCA cards.

Humana’s traditional FSA plan allows the card to be used at the point-of-sale to cover copayments and other out-of-pocket expenses. This card can also be used to cover dental, vision and prescription expenses when these benefits are included in the employer’s FSA plan.

Humana’s PCA plan incorporates no copayments for covered medical expenses. Instead, providers should be aware of the following steps to process claims appropriately:

• The member pays nothing at the time of service;
• The provider may collect the member’s HumanaAccess card number and authori-zation when the member seeks care in order to be able to charge the member’s card after the claim is processed by Humana;
• The provider then submits the claim to Humana;
• Humana adjudicates the claim and tells the provider how much member responsibility there is, if any;
• The provider then charges the member’s card directly for any member balance due if the member has left a signed authorization and their card number on file;
• Otherwise, the provider bills the member for the balance due, and the member can then enter his/her HumanaAccess card number and expiration date and submit the bill back to the provider.

For more information about HumanaAccess card capabilities, contact Humana customer service at (800) 448-6262.

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