What. A. Year: Allied's 2020 Year-End Review

At the beginning of 2020, no one could have predicted what was in store for all of us. However, through these challenging times, Allied still had reasons to be proud. Take a look at our Top 10 highlights of what was quite possibly the craziest year ever.

 1. We celebrated our golden anniversary

At the beginning of 2020, we celebrated 50 years as the small group benefit experts. Though our in-person celebration over the summer was cancelled due to the pandemic, we look forward to hopefully being able to come together to celebrate in 2021. Read the full 50th anniversary story.

2. 90 Degree Benefits acquired majority ownership in Allied

One of the biggest Allied news stories of 2020 happened over the summer when we announced our company was joining 90 Degree Benefits, a health benefits company and subsidiary of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama. In a company-wide virtual meeting, Allied CEO Bill Ashley said, “We’re thrilled about our involvement with 90 Degree Benefits. We don’t think we could have found a better partner to ensure a stable future for our company and employees.” Read the press release now.

3. We designed a new logo and brand colors

After 50 years of being “Allied red”, we’re now “Allied blue”. This branding update reflected our new partnership with 90 Degree Benefits. The marketing and communications team also took this opportunity to refresh our website at alliednational.com by featuring easy-to-navigate pages and updated technology for faster page loading and better mobile viewing. Executive Vice President Gary Ashley shared his thoughts on the new look by saying, “While our name remains the same, this change in our branded look signals a whole new chapter for Allied National.” Read more about our new branding.

4. We passed along our savings on renewals to our small employer clients

Back in early summer, we had rate decreases in all states where our Funding Advantage plans are sold – in many areas as much as 20% lower. We were happy to pass those savings along to our small business employers during renewal time, especially since our clients have been (and still are) heavily impacted by the COVID-19 lockdowns.

5. GEMCORE and AiRCare pivoted during the pandemic to help our members with their anxiety and diabetes challenges

Allied Funding Advantage members have access to two fantastic services, AiRCare and GEMCORE, through our HealthCare Assistant program. Back in May of 2020, the CDC stated that anyone with diabetes was more vulnerable to COVID-19. With that information, GEMCORE started offering an at-home diabetes management program that allowed members to stay healthy by monitoring their diabetes from home. Members now have the option to order supplies through the mail and receive remote coaching. This new program has allowed members with diabetes to access everything they need to stay healthy during the pandemic. AiRCare, a behavioral health company, has been providing no-cost telephone counseling to help our members manage their anxiety and increased stress during these challenging times. For access to these free services, our members can call Allied HealthCare Assistant at 844-287-6078.

6. We started a blog

The Allied Blog was created to address health care coverage issues that we know are important to our members and small business employers. With more than 40 blogs published, these weekly articles are a great way to stay up-to-date on industry news and Allied member perks. The content on the blog covers topics such as:

• Tips on how to make your benefit renewal easy and painless
• How an employer-sponsored health plan can help you retain employees
• How to support your employees’ mental health
• And so much more

We also enjoy reading the comments so feel free to leave one for us! You can read our blogs by visiting alliednational.com/blog. Be sure to bookmark the page so it’s easy for you to come back and read our new posts each week.

7. Heartstrings recognized Allied's positive impact on its mission

We’ve been supporting the local nonprofit Heartstrings Community Foundation for over 10 years through their Goody Delivery Service. As with a lot of businesses, Heartstrings was shut down by the pandemic last spring and unable to make their normal office deliveries and keep their employees employed. Knowing that, we jumped at the opportunity to help when we heard they were going to build and deliver gift baskets to local first responders as another way to raise money for their mission. Read more about our partnership.

For #GivingTuesday in December 2020, Allied pledged to match up to $2,500 in donations. And our very own CEO Bill Ashley starred in a video created to promote the campaign. During the interview, Ashley said, "The best part [of partnering with Heartstrings] is working with the Goody Delivery team, which visits our Overland Park office every Tuesday to sell snacks.” As a result, Heartstrings was able to raise $10,000 on #GivingTuesday, which was the largest donation amount in their 19-year history! Watch the #GivingTuesday promo video on our Facebook page now.

8. We surpassed 100,000 covered members in 2020

We entered the third-party administrator business in 1970 to work with insurance carriers who provide unique health plans for small employers and individuals across the county. In 2020, we surpassed 100,000 members by providing A+ customer service, professionalism, and probably most importantly in this last year, security and preparedness. As a 90 Degree Benefits Company now, we look forward to offering more health plans and services to a broader market across the country and be a long-term player and leader in the industry.

9. Telehealth usage increased 8,800% nationwide from January-September

It’s no surprise that the pandemic has changed our day-to-day life in so many ways. One of the biggest changes for our members has been how they receive outpatient care for minor ailments. Telemedicine visits (at the members' current primary care doc) were up 8,800% from January-September in 2020 compared to January-September in 2019. Lisa Hodson, Chief Strategy and Development Officer at Allied National, expressed her thoughts on the matter by saying she was “glad to see our members continuing to get primary care during a global pandemic and doing so in a safe and cost-effective way.” These virtual doctor’s office visits can decrease the risk of transmitting the virus to patients and staff, therefore providers have switched to telemedicine visits when possible.

10. We had a record-breaking year supporting Kansas City-area nonprofits

Giving back to the community is at the heart of Allied. Here are some examples of what we did to support local businesses in 2020:

• Our employees recognize the importance of helping others in need, too and pledged to donate $16,445 in 2021 to the United Way of Greater Kansas City. Just $50 per week can provide a year's worth of supplies for a preschool classroom, 60 days of safety and healing for women who have been a victim of assault, or dental screenings and cleanings for 24 children.
• When we decided to update our branding, we had some promotional items we needed to part with to make space for our new branded items so we decided to host a shopping event for our employees. While some goodies were free, other branded items, ranging from apparel to mugs, notepads, clocks and candy jars were a $1 suggested donation. After the event, we were able to donate $270 to our friends at Heartstrings.
• And that’s not all – In December of 2020, Our Overland Park office rallied together and donated 115 meal bags for City Union Mission. These meal bag donations, along with turkeys, provided a holiday meal for 460 people! Our employees also donated a number of toys, gift items, over 600 first aid kits and $13,135 in monetary donations.
  

We are humbled by the generosity of our employees and proud to have the ability to give back and support our neighbors in need.

We look forward to seeing the positive impact we can make on our clients, members, agents and local nonprofits in 2021.

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Allied National

Founded in 1970, Allied is one of the nation's oldest and most experienced third-party administrators. Allied National is a 90 Degree Benefits Company, a subsidiary of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama. As the small group benefit experts, Allied works with small business employers to provide unique and affordable group health benefits.