We want to support our providers and office staff in doing business with us as easily and efficiently as possible! As we noted earlier this year, one of the ways we’re doing that is by upgrading your secure portal experience with us. We’re also continuing our work to support interoperability across the provider experience (see related article in this issue). 

Launch and key capabilities

We’re pleased to announce that we anticipate making Point32Health functionality available through Availity EssentialsTM in mid-November for a wide selection of electronic transactions including:

  • Eligibility and benefits response (271) 
  • Electronic claim submission (837)
  • Claim status (277) — Enhanced functionality. With up to 50 additional data elements, you’ll have more claims information at your fingertips — helping reduce the need to contact us for routine claims status questions. 
  • Member search — Enhanced functionality. More search fields available so you can find the right member quickly and accurately. 
  • Member ID card access — New feature. View an image of the member’s ID card that can be downloaded and stored for future reference.  
  • Resources and information via Payer Spaces

Availity Essentials for ease and reliability

You may already be familiar with Availity Essentials, a multi-payer portal designed to help simplify day-to-day transactions and reduce the need to work across multiple systems. By selecting an industry-leading multi-payer portal with hundreds of participating health plans, Point32Health aims to streamline your electronic transaction experience — meaning you and your office staff avoid juggling dozens of individual portal logins by using one centralized tool. 

At go-live, users will be able to select Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan from their available payer options and complete supported transactions in the same portal they may already be using for other health plans. 

More features to come next year

Point32Health will continue to add functionality and refine existing features in Availity Essentials in phases. Additional features anticipated next year include:

  • Referrals and authorizations
  • Claims attachments
  • Claims appeals 
  • Claims corrections
  • Secure messaging
  • Reporting and more!

Existing Point32Health portals will remain available

While we encourage you to begin using Availity Essentials for functionality available at launch, our existing secure portals — HPHConnect and the secure Tufts Health Plan provider portal, including MHK — will continue to be available with all their current functionality. 

We will notify the network well in advance through the provider newsletter before any future decision is made to sunset the existing secure portals.

How to register for Availity Essentials

If you aren’t already registered with Availity Essentials, you can do that today and explore it before Point32Health functionality goes live.

The first step is to designate an Availity Essentials administrator for your organization. The administrator is responsible for registering the organization and managing user accounts, and should have legal authority to sign agreements on behalf of the organization. Once registered, the administrator can determine which staff members need access and create accounts for those users.

You’ll find the registration information you need on the Availity Help Center.

Watch for more information in November

We’ll share more information as go-live approaches. Look for additional details from Availity Essentials and in the November issue of Insights and Updates for Providers, including launch timing, training opportunities, and guidance to help your office prepare.