Office Support Specialist I

Commonwealth of Massachusetts•Boston, MA

2d•Remote

About The Position

The Group Insurance Commission (GIC) seeks to hire an Office Support Specialist (Office Support Specialist I) . The GIC provides high-value health insurance and other benefits to state employees, retirees, and their survivors and dependents. The GIC also covers housing and redevelopment authorities as well as certain municipalities that elect to join the GIC. The agency works with vendors selected through competitive bidding to offer cost-effective benefits produced with careful plan design and rigorous ongoing management. The agency's performance goals are to provide affordable, high quality benefits and, as the largest employer purchaser of health insurance in the Commonwealth, to use that position to drive improvements in the health care system. The GIC’s FY2024 appropriation is $2.1 billion and there are currently over 460,000 people covered by the GIC. The GIC administers the Commonwealth’s health, life, long term disability, flexible spending accounts, dental and vision insurance programs for some 460,000 state employees, retirees, and their dependents. These responsibilities are conducted pursuant to the authority vested in the agency by Chapter 32A and 32B as amended. This position is part of the Operations Division which administers the Commonwealth’s health, life, long term disability, dental and vision insurance programs. General Statement of Duties Responsible for the accurate data entry of information from insurance enrollment and change forms and other source documents by the required deadlines; verifies and corrects data entry information, ensures that member information is accurate in GIC’s CRM system Salesforce and GIC’s eligibility system, assists other employees in organizing, planning and scheduling work in the unit., Performs related work as required. This job will currently be primarily telework and applicant must be detailed oriented and have the ability to multitask. Supervision Received Works under the direct supervision of the Supervisor of the unit as well as Assistant Director of Operations or the Director of Operations.

Requirements

Applicants must have at least (A) two years of full-time, or equivalent part-time, experience in administrative work experience or (B) any equivalent combination of the required experience and the substitutions below: Substitutions: I. An Associate’s or higher degree with a major in business administration, business management or public administration may be substituted for the required experience. II. An Associate’s or higher degree with a major other than in business administration, business management or public administration may be substituted for a maximum of one year of the required experience. Education toward such a degree will be prorated on the basis of the proportion of the requirements actually completed. Educational substitutions will only be permitted for a maximum of two years of the required experience.
Ability to gather information, make decisions, and make appropriate changes involving GIC enrollees.
Ability to research information and draw conclusions and make recommendations.
Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.
Possess good organizational skills.
Knowledge of general office procedures and practices.
Ability to operate general office equipment including computers, copiers and fax machines.
Ability to meet deadlines.
Ability to analyze and determine the applicability of data, to draw conclusions and make appropriate recommendations.
Ability to exercise discretion in handling confidential information.
Ability to establish and maintain harmonious working relationships with others.
Ability to work independently and in teams.
Knowledge of state laws, procedures, guidelines and GIC's rules and regulations.
Experience with Microsoft Office Suite, emphasis with Excel and PowerPoint
Telework employees are responsible for having reliable internet services.
Candidate must speak fluent English.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Case Relationship Management Systems, preferably Salesforce.
Bilingual Spanish/English candidates desired.

Responsibilities

Serve as the front line to GIC members and coordinators, both over the phone and in-person, who require assistance with GIC-sponsored life insurance, Medicare/retirement benefits, deferred retirement, survivor coverage and retired municipal teacher insurance.
Responds to inquiries by providing GIC benefit information through telephone, email, or in person.
Determines insurance eligibility for state, county, municipal and eligible entities’ employees, retirees, dependents and survivors in accordance with MGL Chapter 32 and GIC Rules and Regulations.
Reviews, researches and determines eligibility for GIC benefits.
Collects complete GIC benefit enrollment information from employees, retirees and dependents, including documents and enrollment forms, and process insurance coverage changes.
Coordinate monthly insurance deductions with payroll/pension systems and vendors.
Processes insurance coverage changes for state and municipal retirees, survivors and their dependents.
Collects and approval of eligibility verification documents to support family member changes to health and dental insurance coverage.
Calculate enrollee’s premium and determines necessary billing/refunds.
Contact members in writing or by phone on prescription drug eligibility and enrollment issues that need to be resolved.
Respond to written and phone inquiries concerning GIC benefits.
Work with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) eligibility system to verify Medicare eligibility.
Maintain general knowledge of Federal government’s rules of eligibility for Medicare coverage and enrollment guidelines.
Present GIC benefit information at seminars and health fairs for insureds eligible for GIC insurance benefits.