In February 2024, Kaiser Permanente Health Plan of the Northwest (which serves Oregon and SW Washington) implemented a new membership system for Kaiser Permanente for Individuals and Families (KPIF) health plan members. It’s the first step in replacing our current membership system with an enterprise-wide modern solution that will improve administration capabilities for our members, customers, brokers, and other partners across all lines of business over the next few years.

On February 19, 2024 KPIF On Exchange members transitioned from KP’s On Exchange administration partner, Health Plan Services (HPS), to Kaiser Permanente’s new membership system and payment platform. Specifically, members will benefit from:

• A simplified premium payment experience with flexible payment dates and recurring automatic payments.
• A redesigned and easier-to-read premium statement with a new web address (URL) to pay online, phone number to pay by phone, and address to pay by check.
• Off-exchange members will see minor changes to their premium bills such as correspondence addresses, and a new mailing address for payments by check.

This video shows you how to access online payment and coverage tools.

KPIF members will also need to take some action to keep their billing and payment experience active. We completed our first outreach in January 2024 to inform members that:

• Premium billing and payment history before 2022 won’t be available once we move to the new payment system; however, members can contact the call center for help if needed. A bill insert with this same information will be sent with the member's January 2024 (for February 2024 coverage) HPS statement.
• Members who subscribe to dental plans in the Northwest have received notice to expect to receive separate premium bills going forward. This video walks you through registering and setting up recurring payments for both coverages now that the new premium payment system is available.

• Members will need to register and sign up for recurring payments using the Billing Unit ID (BUID) provided to keep their automatic premium payments active. To keep paperless billing active, they will need to update their paperless preferences.
• If the member does not register for autopay, they can continue to make monthly payments by check, by phone, or online. However, we encourage members to set up monthly recurring payments.

Our new premium payment system is now live. Encourage your clients to register today, make premium payments, and set up autopay for their medical and dental coverage. We will continue to reach out to members during the last two weeks of February, reminding them to make payments and register for autopay. Important: Even if they previously had autopay set up, they will need to register in the new system for both their medical and dental coverage.

Steps to register and set up recurring payments

• Visit kp.org/payonline and click Register now
• Use the unique Billing Unit ID (BUID) for medical to access the online payment system and register their account
• Add a nickname to the account, for example, “Medical"
• Set up recurring payments. Choose a payment date at least 3 days before their due date to ensure their premium payment is not late.

Set up dental premium payment

If your clients have both medical and dental coverage on-exchange, they’ll now receive two premium statements and recurring payments must be set up for each. Members can follow the steps below to set up their dental premium payment.

• Click Settings
• Click the My Accounts icon
• Click the Add another business unit ID button
• Enter their second BUID, zip code, and nickname for the account, for example, “Dental"
  
• Click Submit to save
• Once they’ve added their second billing account to their profile, they should set up recurring payments to ensure they stay up to date with their payments.

If your clients don’t register for recurring payments, they can continue to make monthly payments online, by phone, or by check:

• Pay online at kp.org/payonline
• Pay by phone at 1-877-729-5590
• Pay by check; to ensure timely payment, mail both the check and the payment coupon together

Important: If the member pays their monthly premiums using online banking, they need to update the information with their bank to reflect the new payment address shown on the next billing statement they receive.

For more information, including a how-to video with step-by-step instructions, visit kp.org/howtopaymypremium.

To keep paperless billing active, members must update their paperless preferences:

• Visit kp.org/paperlessrenewals
• In the upper right corner of the screen, click on My Account
• Select Profile & Preferences, then Paperless
• Scroll down and choose your paperless preferences

Policy updates that could impact your clients

We’ll continue to send member communications for a couple of months after the new premium payment system is live.

• We’ll monitor and target outreach to members who haven’t registered via reminder emails through March and April 2024, as needed.
• We’ll explain new self-service features and tools that can help your clients get the most from their online experience via an awareness campaign that includes a video and infographic beginning in April 2024.

Contact the KPIF Broker Support Teams at kpif@kp.org, or call 1-844-394-3978, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time.