Get to know Member Services

Make the right call

The call to Member Services was not typical. A college student who is a UPMC Health Plan member called Member Services on behalf of her roommate who was very ill. Despite knowing her roommate was not a UPMC Health Plan member, the college student called Member Services anyway. As it turns out, she made the right call.
 
Our Member Services representative took the time to listen to the student, quickly grasped the urgency of the situation, and called 911. The representative explained the situation to the 911 operator, who dispatched an ambulance. The Member Services representative stayed on the line with the student until the situation was under control.

Although not a typical call, it perfectly demonstrates Member Services’ goal of providing “high-touch service.” In this era of online service and automated phone systems, most businesses classify any human-to-human interaction as “high-touch.” But UPMC Health Plan’s high-touch service goes far beyond this modest standard.

In the past year, improving our one-on-one service has become the top goal of the Member Services Department. “Customer service at the Health Plan is our highest value,” says Anne Palmerine, the Health Plan’s director of Member Services.

To reach its goal, Member Services puts a premium on first-call resolution. This means resolving a matter to your satisfaction on your first call to the Health Plan. If, for instance, you have a problem with a bill, the Member Services representative will call the provider on your behalf to resolve the issue.

As the situation with the college student shows, the Health Plan’s high-touch service doesn’t just mean improved service, it also means extra service. For example, Member Services can now deliver pharmacy assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Whenever you need to, you can talk to a representative who can resolve your problem.

In addition to high-touch service, UPMC Health Plan has expanded its self-service options. You can now handle a number of tasks online or through our voice automation service that would have required interaction with a service representative in the past. This means our representatives have more time to help you with more complicated issues.