2/5/09 Accessing Benefits Easier Than Ever
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2009
CONTACT: LINDA MCDONALD, (850) 921-5266
~ 80 percent of state employees report successful open enrollment in 2008 ~
TALLAHASSEE - Department of Management Services (DMS) Secretary Linda H. South announced today a 30 percent increase in the overall customer satisfaction of enrollees' awareness during open enrollment, when retirees and state employees add or change their health insurance benefits options. In 2008, 80 percent of enrollees who responded to the survey are satisfied or extremely satisfied with their ability to access easy-to-understand information and enroll in their state-sponsored health benefits. In 2007, 61 percent reported satisfaction.
"When times are tough, we must do everything we can to ease the stress of tough choices for state employees and their loved ones," said Secretary South. "The state offers a generous benefits package that only brings value if you know how to use it. These survey results reveal that our efforts to take the pain out of an important, but often intimidating process, help employees make educated decisions."
The DMS Division of State Group Insurance administers open enrollment each year for retirees and employees of the State of Florida. It surveys its members about the open enrollment process to improve its services and encourage active decision making in the benefit selection process.
2008 Open Enrollment Customer Satisfaction Survey Highlights
| Open Enrollment Awareness and Understanding | Extremely Satisfied | Satisfied | Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied | Dissatisfied | Extremely Dissatisfied |
| Overall Satisfaction | 25% | 55% | 15% | 4% | 1% |
| Understanding benefit options - Web site (www.MyFlorida.com/MyBenefits) | 22% | 56% | 14% | 7% | 1% |
| Understanding benefit options - Benefit Guide | 24% | 55% | 16% | 5% | 1% |
| People First Online Enrollment - Easy to Use | 29% | 49% | 12% | 9% | 2% |
| People First Online Enrollment - Easy to Understand | 27% | 49% | 13% | 9% | 2% |
"Communicating with our diverse members to make informed choices is our goal," said Department of Management Services Deputy Secretary David Faulkenberry. "By using both technology and printed materials, we make access readily available without diminishing our support for those who feel most comfortable making these decisions over the phone or with a representative. We maintain confidence and reduce costs in the enrollment process."
Methodology
The Department of Management Services developed a 15-question electronic survey to assess the level of satisfaction among members during open enrollment last fall. The target survey population included 70,701 active state employees with verified e-mail addresses. Of these employees, a random sample of 30,000 were e-mailed survey invitations in batches of 6,000 beginning November 14, 2008 and ending November 17,2008. By November 30, 2008, 5,209 employees responded to the survey. This satisfied a 95 percent confidence level with a two percent margin of error.
To download the full survey results (vnd.ms-excel 30.00 kB) or learn more about the Department of Management Services visit www.dms.MyFlorida.com.
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