NASCO in 2021:
A Year of Adaptation and Change
99%
systems
availability
93.94%
Operational
First Pass Rate
Executed a comprehensive disaster recovery drill with A RECOVERY POINT OF LESS THAN 5 SECONDS
Successfully simulated
the complete failure and recovery of NASCO's data centers
We collaboratively provide exceptional value and service through our unique expertise in developing products and platforms that enable Blue plans to enhance the member experience.
Annual Report
900
automated workflows enabled in NCompass
MORE THAN
3,300
NCompass users across 4 plans
NEARLY
Enhanced MembersEdge
via 3 major releases and
12 minor releases
100%
cycle
completion
Responded to 47 EXTERNAL AUDITS and NEARLY 4,000 QUESTIONS with ONLY 3 LOW-RISK FINDINGS that have been remediated
1 BILLION
claims have processed without a significant claims processing miss
MORE THAN
Delivery requests increased by more than 10%, yet effort hours only increased by 0.37% due to process improvements
900
automated workflows enabled in NCompass
MORE THAN
Enhanced MembersEdge
via 3 major releases and 12 minor releases
Successfully migrated all customers to the cloud-enabled version of NPE without disruption
Enhanced MembersEdge
via 3 major releases and
12 minor releases
34
Users are experiencing the power of AI.me
34
Users are experiencing the power of AI.me
Successfully migrated all customers to the cloud-enabled version of NPE without disruption
34
Users are experiencing the power of AI.me
$23M
in savings from optimized NASCO expense structure across a three-year plan
Successfully migrated all customers to the cloud-enabled version of NPE without disruption
$23M
in savings from optimized NASCO expense structure across a three-year plan
MORE THAN
Implemented 15 new payment integrity rules, 1 new payment integrity vendor and 5 new payment integrity products
$23M
in savings from optimized NASCO expense structure across a three-year plan
Implemented 15 new payment integrity rules,
1 new payment integrity vendor and 5 new payment integrity products
3,300
NCompass users across 4 plans
NEARLY
Implemented 15 new payment integrity rules, 1 new payment integrity vendor and 5 new payment integrity products
NCompass celebrated a successful Phase II implementation for provider at BCBSMA — 99.5% DELIVERED ON TIME OR AHEAD OF SCHEDULE
NCompass celebrated a successful Phase II implementation for provider at BCBSMA — 99.5% DELIVERED ON TIME OR AHEAD OF SCHEDULE
3,300
NCompass users across 4 plans
NEARLY
$195M
MORE THAN
in non-claims payments processed
through NASCO Payment Engine (NPE)
$195M
in non-claims payments processed through the NASCO Payment Engine (NPE)
MORE THAN
NCompass celebrated a successful Phase II implementation for provider at BCBSMA — 99.5% DELIVERED ON TIME OR AHEAD OF SCHEDULE
Improved Speed To Value Through Enterprise Customer Order Requests Process
525
orders submitted with
97%
accepted and completed
Improved Speed To Value Through Enterprise Customer Order Requests Process
525
orders submitted
97%
accepted and completed
$195M
in non-claims payments processed
through NASCO Payment Engine (NPE)
MORE THAN
Delivery requests increased by more than 10%, yet effort hours only increased by 0.37% due to process improvements
Delivery requests increased by more than 10%, yet effort hours
only increased by
0.37% due to process improvements
Improved Speed To Value Through Enterprise Customer Order Requests Process
525
orders submitted with
97%
accepted and completed
900
automated workflows enabled in NCompass
MORE THAN
We are advancing our customers’ business using NASCO’s product-based digital assets
80
API functions and event interfaces available for customer adoption on NASCO's Developer Portal
MORE THAN
reduction in keystrokes
reduction in number of screens accessed during an activity
reduction in duration of an activity
16%
33%
37%
Improved User Effectiveness In MembersEdge via New Intuitive User Experience:
17
new or enhanced Claims and Benefits APIs and events delivered, all adopted by at least one plan
“What got you here won’t get you there” is our mantra. We are embracing our position as thought leaders, flexing our expertise and nimbly adapting to change the way we work.
users
Initiated Crowdsourcing To Facilitate Product Roadmap Prioritization
165
226
198
shared ideas
interactions
26
new ideas
A MESSAGE FROM
OUR CEO, JOHN LADAGA
Completed extensive leadership and team training around agile mindset and culture; initiated Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) against EMBR platform
Improved testing of medical
policy changes; increased speed
to market by
27%
Restructured product portfolios to product platforms with an enterprise product office, technology office and supporting infrastructure and operations
Shift to more agile delivery methods increased by
400%
Changed the way we deliver NCompass enhancements; reduced SIT/UAT defects for BCBSMA by
91%
Utilized design thinking and journey mapping techniques in various projects, including transparency mandate efforts
behavioral competencies
Recognized that HOW we perform
work is equally important as completing the work; changed our performance measures to
50%
50%
goal completion
Executed a shift in Product Management to maximize value to plans by implementing a portfolio objective view versus a project objective view
Enhanced data capabilities to provide more modern extracts to enable an informatics environment for BCBSM
Introduced API Consumer Guides to help developer community integrate with NASCO products
Implemented DevSecOps model for all digital teams, improving time to market
Stability
Value
Digital
Change
Journey
We are in the midst of transitioning with BCBSM IT to act as one cohesive team, working together to optimize our talent, resources, technologies, products and skillsets to deliver unprecedented market capabilities beyond anything we were providing independently, and we are eager to continue this journey together.
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34 YEARS
of partnership
18-24 MONTHS
of strategic planning
COUNTLESS HOURS
of negotiating contracts and agreements
1 NEW GOVERNANCE
NASCO becoming a wholly owned subsidiary
of BCBSM
NASCO products MIGRATED from
an old data center to a modern data center with ZERO service-level impacts to our customers
MORE THAN 5 YEARS since the NPS or MembersEdge have experienced a cycle miss
275M
claims processed on the NPS in 2021, with more than 2 million claims transactions daily
O V E R
94.52%
based on 89.4 million transactions
MEMBERSEDGE 834 transaction automation
8M
transactions per hour
Products Architected For Speed and Scale
50M
transactions per day
SOC 1
50M
with ZERO observations for 86 controls across 10 control objectives in 3 IBM data centers
transactions per day
ISSUED SOC 1, 2, & 3 reports with more than 7,000 pages of supporting documentation
SOC 2
133 unique controls with ZERO observations
ISSUED SOC 1, 2, & 3 reports with more than 7,000 pages of supporting documentation
Continued to enhance NASCO's security by enabling additional application security solutions, introducing new data loss prevention capabilities and enhanced external security monitoring, increasing access management controls and continuing security awareness programs
It was 35 years ago when NASCO first launched our integrated claims processing system to help bridge the technology gap and enhance operating efficiencies for Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans across the nation. While what we do has evolved over time, why we do it has not.
Our vision remains laser-focused on enabling Blue plan business strategies and the future healthcare ecosystem. Over the past two years, NASCO has been on a journey to redefine our strategy and accelerate our digital evolution, and this effort culminated in 2021 with NASCO becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM). As we traverse the path to a new governance model, NASCO continues to adapt to changing market needs and shifting priorities, and we remain dedicated to customer success.
NASCO products have evolved far beyond claims administration; they are deeply integrated into our Blue plan customers’ operations and support numerous strategic initiatives. In 2021, with over 2 million claims being processed daily, and an annual volume of more than 275 million claims, our systems maintained over 99 percent availability and generated 100 percent cycle completion. We celebrated the successful completion of the NCompass implementation for provider at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, and now NCompass has nearly 3,300 users across four Blue plans and more than 900 automated workflows. We made available more than 80 new API and event interfaces for customer adoption on NASCO’s Developer Portal and introduced API Consumer Guides to help the developer community integrate with NASCO products. Our agile delivery methods have increased by 400 percent, and we improved the testing of medical policy changes, which increased speed to market by 27 percent.
The future of healthcare is all about the speed at which companies can pivot, adopt new solutions or integrate with existing solutions to keep up with the rapidly changing and increasingly complex healthcare market. By NASCO becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of BCBSM, we are well positioned to accelerate our digital evolution and expand our product offerings. We’re reimagining and redefining what’s next for healthcare by providing the capabilities and developing the products that create healthier outcomes for healthier lives.
I am thrilled about the opportunities ahead of us. It’s a new era of healthcare. It’s a new era of NASCO.
NASCO in 2021:
A Year of Adaptation and Change
A MESSAGE FROM
OUR CEO, JOHN LADAGA
Annual Report
We didn't get here
by jumping on the latest fad or by losing our focus; we've built a reputation of stability, security and trustworthiness.
with