Market intelligence is important to a successful business. This is taught at West Point as a fundamental necessity to engage the enemy and win. Sun Tzu’s writings of several thousand years ago alludes to the supreme importance of knowing the terrain and desposition of opposing troops.
Prior to HealthSmart successfully acquiring the Brownsville Independent School District several years ago, every effort was made to gather information and size up opportunities. A well laid plan is worth a dozen regiments and a well executed plan inspires victory.
How was the BISD account to be landed? Low rates would be a good start. Usually, the insurance company with the lowest rates gets the nod. What drives health insurance rates? Claims of course. Bidding on specified benefits would preclude a successful bidder from coming in with inferior benefits and thus lower costs. So the strategy would be to negotiate the best possible medical care provider rates in town. That makes sense.
But, a wise and seasoned vendor would ask, what is the competition doing in regards to contracting with the two Brownsville hospitals and the hundreds of physicians in town? What must one do to “beat” those negotiated rates and thus have the lowest bid?
In her continuing quest to explore the fascinating sequence of events surrounding the BISD health insurance saga and resultant lawsuit filed recently by the BISD against their former third party administrator, Molly Mulebriar came across this interesting email which will give the reader an interesting peek at behind the scenes strategies employed by a vendor to gather business intelligence – HealthSmart Overview of BISD Opportunity
