Regional Print Strategy Solves Schedule Challenge for ANOC Materials | Healthcare

2/27/2024

RRD’s technical expertise and manufacturing infrastructure enable critical information to reach customers ahead of tight deadline

CHALLENGE

A leading healthcare insurance company needed to have their annual notice of change (ANOC) materials composed, printed, and mailed to 200,000 customers as mandated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). However, the company faced significant challenges meeting this requirement, as their incumbent vendor was not able to meet their expectations.

It was June, and the company had yet to see any significant progress on the project. Work typically began on these critical materials in January, and they had to be delivered by the end of September. The company sought an external partner who could quickly step into this project at the 11th hour and deliver the materials successfully — and on time.

SOLUTION 

Having previously worked together, the company reached out to RRD’s Healthcare and Business Communications Solutions (BCS) teams for help turning this project around. RRD first deployed a document automation tool to compile the data-heavy documents, significantly reducing the typical processing time — and matching the accelerated schedule. They also partnered closely with the company’s product and materials teams to garner the data, quickly compose materials, and have files approved. 

As the project moved into August and early September, the team began delivering files to print, comprising ANOC booklets and personalized address sheets. RRD leveraged a regional strategy for the print work — utilizing a trio of facilities in the East, Midwest, and West to drastically reduce the printing and distribution time. In fact, this strategy was so successful that the ANOC materials were delivered to homes as much as a week earlier than requested.

One more challenge came into play late in the project: The client discovered they had 30,000 additional members who needed to receive ANOC materials by the end of September. Thanks to RRD’s familiarity with both the client and the project — as well as RRD’s distribution strategy manufacturing infrastructure — they were able to print, bind, and have the 30,000 pieces inserted into the mail stream by the deadline, all without additional expedited shipping costs. 

RESULTS

Despite a late entry to the project, RRD was able to meet and surpass the company’s accelerated timetable. Their ability to quickly get up to speed with the project and guide the company through the critical stages yielded the following results: 

• Composed, printed, and delivered ANOC materials for distribution to 200,000 customers
• Utilized a regional print strategy to ensure timely delivery
• Achieved significant savings for the client by avoiding expedited shipping costs for final 30,000 ANOC materials
• Proactively began working with the client to establish a game plan for the following year’s ANOC project, avoiding a similar “fire drill” schedule