SAPOA Case Study 5-1-13
Santa Ana Police Officers Association (SAPOA)
BB&T Insurance Services of California, Inc.
Fullerton, CA
Background
SAPOA wanted to combat rising costs and poor health among their members, while
contemplating significantly reducing their traditionally rich benefits program to police department
retirees.
Frank Marrone of BB&T Insurance Services of Orange County in Fullerton, Calif., developed his
relationship with the SAPOA board over the course of several years and helped engender a
recognition that while SAPOA could not maintain their current course, they did not have to
reduce their benefits program and could actually expand choices – through a solution that was
only available through BB&T Insurance Services.
SAPOA had a 25-year relationship with their incumbent broker who continued to offer traditional
off-the-shelf defined benefit plans, and who did not have access to CarePlus. The incumbent
broker could only offer the common market offerings.
A presentation was made to the entire SAPOA board by Marrone and several EWSC team
experts, who illustrated how the fully insured CarePlus California program, featuring Anthem
Blue Cross, could meet their needs.
CarePlus – the Exclusive Solution
“CarePlus is a great opportunity for me to talk to my clients about bringing real solutions to their
annual health care cost increases,” says Marrone. He uses the exclusivity of the solution as the
key door-opener. Because it’s different and exclusive, prospects have appeared more open to
listening – it’s not the same old story they hear from competing brokers who offer everything
that everyone else offers. “…My prospects can get better Anthem rates through CarePlus than
they can through Anthem direct, because Anthem will write business with CarePlus as a
separate pool.”
Marrone discovered that it is easy to focus on rates, because that is how most cases are won or
lost. The CarePlus focus is on the opportunity to bring control back to the employer and put
more responsibility on the employees to engage in their personal well-being.
What is the key differentiator of the BB&T solution? That it’s not available through any agent or
broker except BB&T Insurance Services and its associated organizations, like McGriff, Seibels
& Williams and Precept.
Marrone underscores the fact that CarePlus is not a typical replacement solution because it
requires that employers embrace more than a health plan and a rate proposal. “The employer
has to commit to a culture of health and become actively involved to engage their employees to
take the right steps to achieve the desired objectives – predictable rates and healthier
employees.”
Not all employers will take this step at this time. But down the road, they will – because the
current course of rising health care costs and decreased health of employees is never going to
be corrected without the employer and employee working together on health.
Page 1 of 2
SAPOA Case Study 5-1-13
Marrone leads his prospecting efforts with a focus on cost control and improved employee
productivity. “The greatest value proposition of CarePlus is the ability to predict rates and
improve people’s lives. The greatest value proposition of working with BB&T is that this health
care solution is only available through us. Period.”
SAPOA Took the Step
SAPOA understood and was willing to make the commitments necessary to the program,
knowing it can bring cost predictability and control through tools in place to ensure and measure
success.
SAPOA also connected with the wellness message, as many members have health issues that
are addressed through the program’s built in population health management tools and systems.
Implementation Through Teamwork
The targeted CarePlus implementation timeframe is a 12 to 16-week process. Due to the late
sale date, SAPOA was installed in only six weeks in order for the plans to be effective on
January 1, 2013.
Page 2 of 2