Early stakeholder participation is critical to the success of a Health Insurance Exchange (HIX), advised Pradeep Goel, CEO of EngagePoint (formerly Consumer Health Technologies), during a panel discussion at the 2012 State Healthcare IT Connect Summit, held recently in Dulles, Washington. The panel, titled “Comparing Health Benefits Exchange Models: Governance, Implementation and Data Considerations,” also featured Greg Franklin, Assistant Secretary of Health Information Technology at the California Technology Agency, and Jay Himmelstein, Professor, University of Massachusetts School of Medicine, and Director of the New England States Collaborative for Insurance Exchange Systems.

As a systems integrator of State Health Insurance Exchanges, EngagePoint provides the products, services and expertise to successfully implement an HIX. The company is currently designing and building a health insurance exchange, and is focused on achieving a sustainable design and successful implementation of a State HIX. Goel notes, “A key challenge in standing up an HIX is the aggregation of data, and getting to that data is half of the problem. Creating a data hierarchy in the early stages of the project can bring much needed direction.” Goel added that it is critical for key stakeholders, including insurance carriers, consumers, employers and state agencies get involved early in the game as an HIX is being developed.

About EngagePoint

EngagePoint is a payer-centric Healthcare software and IT Services company that enables Government, Commercial, and Administrative Payers to engage their key stakeholders in bending the cost of care curve while improving the health and wellbeing of the people they serve. Currently implementing two Health Insurance Exchanges, EngagePoint delivers sustainable solutions that incorporate service-oriented-architecture (SOA), MITA adherence and reusable infrastructure. This allows EngagePoint clients to meet the requirements of Affordable Care Act mandates, to implement member engagement and retention strategies, and to match customized benefit packages to the needs of groups and individuals. Founded in 2007, EngagePoint is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. with offices in Maryland and North Dakota.