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Summary

This webinar, hosted by The Healthcare Innovation Company, explores how Vantage Health Plan modernized their approach to preparing their Medicare Advantage materials using the Healthcare Touchpoint Exchange.

The session features:

• Jessica Self, VP of Monroe Operations at Vantage Health Plan
• Sohail Malik, VP of Healthcare Solutions at Messagepoint
• Samuel Kloeckl, Senior Director of Healthcare Solutions at Messagepoint

Below is a high-level summary of the discussion:

The Challenge: Scaling Under Pressure with Limited Resources

Updating Medicare Advantage plan materials in preparation for the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) is a high-pressure time for MAOs. For Vantage Health Plan, the stakes raised dramatically after a merger more than doubled the number of plans under management. Suddenly responsible for over 50 plan variations across three states, the team needed to scale quickly, without adding headcount.

“Almost overnight, we went from a very manageable and maintained manual process using Microsoft Word to almost triple the plan load,” recalled Jessica Self, VP of Monroe Operations at Vantage. “It was clear our existing process wouldn’t hold up.”

The panel had a candid discussion on how most Medicare Advantage plans still rely on a mix of Word documents, desktop publishing tools, and outsourced vendors. Sohail noted that while this may work at low volumes, it creates major bottlenecks as plan counts grow. “Manual processes are extremely non-scalable and error-prone,” he explained. “Organizations either get stuck outsourcing, which leads to inefficiency and loss of control, or they turn to tools that require developer expertise and still leave business users dependent on technical resources.”

Sam added that some technology vendors fall short when it comes to understanding the unique complexities of CMS compliance. “With some tools, you get speed—but you’re still limited by how much your vendor understand Medicare,” he said. “That’s where organizations start to hit a wall.”

The solution: A Purpose-Built Platform for Medicare Advantage Documents

With their Word-based process unable keep pace with the new demands, Vantage turned to Messagepoint for help. “We reached out to Messagepoint after evaluating several other vendors,” Jessica shared. “It was the right balance of control, visibility, and transparency. It fit our model and our needs well.”

Jessica emphasized the importance of having a system that empowers business users to manage plan content directly: “We wanted something our actual users could learn and grow into,” she said. “Not a tool that required programmers or constant IT support. Messagepoint gave us that.”

Vantage also benefited from Messagepoint’s pre-configured CMS templates for ANOCs, EOCs, and SBs, which eliminate the need to interpret model updates or rebuild document structures each year. As Sam Kloeckl explained during the discussion, this configuration “takes the guesswork out of updates” and allows users to focus on what matters most—ensuring the accuracy and clarity of plan-specific content, not copy-pasting across dozens of files.

Navigating Dramatic CMS Changes during AEP 2023

In 2023, the scope of the changes introduced by CMS were dramatic. Significant revisions to model content and multiple late memos disrupted timelines across the industry, forcing Medicare Advantage Organizations to react quickly or risk falling out of compliance.

Messagepoint helped Vantage proactively prepare for these changes. Sam described how the team monitored CMS activity closely, engaged directly with the agency, and translated policy updates into actionable changes within the platform. “Instead of spending days analyzing model changes,” he said, “our clients could focus on reviewing content. We had updates ready within hours or days.”

Jessica described the 2023 AEP season as a “year full of curveballs” and credited Messagepoint with helping her team navigate it successfully. “We were able to move quickly, thoroughly, and accurately,” she said. “Messagepoint was the savior of the year. The transparency and commitment to getting it right gave us confidence in our output.”

Establishing visibility and control over the QA process

The discussion then turned to QA, one of the most critical yet often overlooked phases in the Medicare materials lifecycle. For many organizations, QA still involves spreadsheets, email threads, and live screen-sharing sessions—methods that simply don’t scale in a regulated environment where accuracy and compliance are paramount.

With Messagepoint, Vantage was able to eliminate these manual workflows and implement a centralized, integrated QA process. The Messagepoint QA module provides robust capabilities including change tracking, document comparison, annotation, issue tracking, and status reporting—all within the Messagepoint platform.

Jessica described how the QA Module helped their team improve both speed and confidence: “It allowed our benefits and compliance teams to validate not just the words on the page, but that they matched what we committed to CMS,” she shared. “We’re confident the documents tie back to our bid, and we’d be ready for an audit tomorrow.”

Automating Translation and Accessibility

The panel also explored how Messagepoint helped Vantage meet CMS requirements for alternate formats, including Spanish-language versions, large print, and Section 508C compliance.

With Messagepoint, accessibility and translation are built into the content workflow. The platform enables automatic generation of accessible PDFs and supports of English and Spanish materials to be produced simultaneously. “You’re not chasing Word files or outside vendors,” Sam noted. “It’s all handled within the platform, which means when you’re done, you’re done.”

A Look at Upcoming CMS Data Modernization Changes

Looking ahead, the panel discussed how CMS’s Plan Benefit Package (PBP) modernization initiative, and other upcoming changes like greater D-SNP integration, will reshape how MAOs manage both their data and downstream materials. These updates will introduce new data formats, validation rules, and submission protocols that ripple across the entire production process.

Jessica emphasized the importance of being proactive. “More eyes are always better when CMS rolls out changes,” she said. “Messagepoint brings that extra layer of interpretation and responsiveness that helps us stay ahead.”

Sam shared that Messagepoint is already collaborating with partners involved in early CMS testing to prepare the platform. With longstanding support for PBP data integration, Messagepoint is positioned to help clients navigate these modernization efforts with greater efficiency and fewer surprises.

Final Takeaways: How Vantage Gained the Speed, Efficiency, & Control at Scale

As the discussion wrapped, the panel emphasized what it takes to be truly AEP-ready: the right people, processes, and purpose-built technology. With Messagepoint, Vantage has been able to manage rapid plan growth, keep up with evolving CMS updates, and ultimately deliver accurate, compliant materials in time for the deadline.

Jessica summed it up well: “We manage documents for two companies, three products, over fifty plans, across three states—with a very small team. We’re proud of what we can accomplish, and it wouldn’t be achievable without Messagepoint in place.”

This is just a preview of the insights shared in this webinar. Complete the form above to watch the full recording.