What are Employer Benefit consultants, employer benefit managers and
what is their role in health insurance?

Hello infomaven,

I took your question to a few reliable health related websites on 
the internet. I found some very useful information and I will present
the two terms in the following format for ease of use -

Term             : Answer
Definition/Job   : Answer
Their Role       : Answer
Website Location : Answer

The website location is where you could read/learn more and see some 
of the same sources I saw.


I started with 'Employer Benefit Consultant'. The actual job title
varies, with most companies referring to is as 'Benefit Consultant'.

Term             : Employer Benefit Consultant
Definition       : This person is responsible for helping health care
                   recipients choose which health care 'program' they
                   would like to enroll in. Typically, all enrollments
                   and disenrollments are done through them. Since
they
                   are labeled as a consultant, this is normally a job
                   at the employer level.
Their Role       : All dealings with your healtcare plan as offered
                   through your employer. If you have a multitude of 
                   doctors/practitioners to choose from, he/she would
                   help you decide the who, what, when and why. They
                   typically work for the employer.
Website Location : http://www.libertyresources.org/mc/define.html


Term             : Employer Benefit Managers
Definition       : This person is the actual manager of the benefit
                   program as provided to the employer. This position
                   is normally held at the health insurance company.
Their Role       : They are the point of contact and manager of the
                   health care program for the whole company. If the
                   company needs changes to the program, or has
questions
                   at a company level - this is the person to see.
Please
                   read my clarification below about the
interchangeable
                   aspect of these positions.
Website Location : Had to put below for formatting.

http://www.ivillagehealth.com/print/0,11301,153546,00.html
http://www.ucci.com/was/ucciweb/benefit_managers/bene_admin.jsp

The second definition was more intuitive. In the context that it was
used on the two sites I referenced, you can define the term.


The two terms you asked about were often used interchangeably, and at
different organizational levels. I provided the two most distinct, 
different applications that were available. Since you used the words
'Employer' in both, they can both be interpreted as jobs in positions
that
serve the employers or the employees. This would depend on what the
employer
calls the job position. Either way, the job definitions translate
across the
market just about the same. You may just have to interpret the terms
in the
context that you are viewing or researching.


To find the answer to your question I searched for :

"employer Benefit Manager":
://www.google.com/search?q=employer+Benefit+Manager

"employer Benefit consultant":
://www.google.com/search?q=employer+Benefit+consultant

I also used this site for definitions :

Liberty Resources
http://www.libertyresources.org

If you need any clarification, or require more information, please ask
before rating this answer, as I would be more than willing to assist
you further.

Thanks for the great question!
SgtCory

---

Clarification of Answer by sgtcory-ga on 24 Oct 2002 12:13 PDT

Hello again -

Here is the second definition again. The formatting has not been very
forgiving of me today :

Term             : Employer Benefit Managers
Definition       : This person is the actual manager of the benefit
                   program as provided to the employer. This position
                   is normally held at the health insurance provider.
Their Role       : They are the point of contact and manager of the
                   health care program for the whole company. If the
                   company needs changes to the program, or has
questions
                   at a company level - this is the person to see.
Please
                   read my clarification below about the
interchangeable
                   aspect of these positions.

Thanks for your patience -

SgtCory

---

Clarification of Answer by sgtcory-ga on 24 Oct 2002 12:17 PDT

Still not wanting to work for me today. Heres a simplified version :

Employer Benefit Managers

This person is the actual manager of the benefit
program as provided to the employer. This position
is normally held at the health insurance provider.

They are the point of contact and manager of the
health care program for the whole company. If the
company needs changes to the program, or has questions
at a company level - this is the person to see. Please
read my clarification below about the interchangeable
aspect of these positions.

This will help me fill in some blaks for a project I am working on. Thank you.