Software Development · DevOps & Cloud
DC Health Benefit Exchange
Modernizing how DC residents find and keep health coverage.
The challenge
The District set out to build one of the country’s first health insurance marketplaces, on an ambitious timeline and under national attention. DC Health Link had to serve individuals and small businesses in their first open enrollment period while also enrolling Members of Congress and their staff, all at once. No one had done work at this scale before, and the stakes for getting it right were high.
The approach
IdeaCrew stepped in and moved quickly. After assessing the systems architecture, data, and performance, we developed a strategy built around the needs of the District’s customers and business partners. We stood up a new web portal in six weeks for 15,000 Members of Congress and their staff. Rather than another risky all-at-once build, we re-implemented the District’s marketplace with modern, configurable, open-standards software hosted in the cloud. We journaled every enrollment transaction so data could be verified and correct information sent to carriers, implemented new CMS and IRS reporting, integrated provider and formulary lookup tools and an out-of-pocket calculator, built new quoting and appointment tools for brokers, integrated Medicaid eligibility, and connected the individual and small business marketplaces.
The outcome
DC Health Link became the first modular exchange in the country and one of the most financially sustainable platforms in the nation. Enrollment grew from 20,000 to 100,000 members, all online, with no paper applications. Call center wait times dropped from 8.7 to 1.5 minutes and abandonments fell from 23% to 6%. Cloud hosting saved the District millions and earned multiple AWS innovation awards, and the annual savings let the District lower the carrier tax that funds the exchange by 10%.
The SHOP system IdeaCrew delivered exceeded our expectations. The online marketplace is easy for customers to use, and feedback from enrolled businesses and their workers, brokers, and our congressional customers is very positive.
Mila Kofman, Executive Director, DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority
Awards. AWS City on a Cloud, Best Practices Award (2016 and 2018). Clear Choices Award, ranked #1 among 13 state-based marketplaces.
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