CGS Administrators, LLC in Nashville, Tennessee USA received a Stevie® Award for Customer Service Department of the Year in the customer service awards categories of The 2011 American Business Awards. (Entries are now being accepted for the 2012 ABAs. The entry deadline is March 28 - get your entry kit here.) Here we show how this provider of services for Medicare beneficiaries is exceeding goals in customer satisfaction.
An IMPACTful Provider Contact Center
CGS has provided services to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) since Medicare began in 1966. CGS Administrators’ core values have enabled its Provider Contact Center (PCC) to positively impact the lives of millions of government health care beneficiaries, providers, and suppliers every day. These core values are:
- Integrity,
- Making a Difference,
- Passion for Excellence,
- Always Improving,
- Customer Focus, and
- Taking Risks.
These values combine to form the acronym IMPACT. IMPACT is represented in the company’s mission as: “We IMPACT lives”, and in its vision as: “To IMPACT the future of our communities and nation by being the premier administrator of government health care programs.”
Providing Medicare & Medicaid Services
In June 2007, CGS was awarded the largest of four Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Medicare Administrative Contracts to provide claims processing, a Provider Customer Service Program (PCSP), and administrative services to more than 80,000 DME suppliers in 17 U.S. states and territories.
The CGS PCSP is a multi-tiered customer service organization responsible for Congressional inquiries, beneficiary complaint screening, written correspondence, and the Provider Outreach and 
Education (POE) team, which offers providers education and clarification of CMS regulations.
Exceeding Goals
Abbey Dyer is the CGS Director in charge of the PCSP, overseeing fewer than 100 employees in the customer service team. Their role is to ensure that the over 13 million Medicare beneficiaries they serve receive the medical equipment they need;, and that the over 80,000 suppliers of that medical equipment receive payment—all while meeting or exceeding federal performance standards.
“Our department may be small but it does a terrific job for a very large number of people,” says Dyer. “Recognition by The Stevie Awards is gratifying proof that there is awareness of our hard work beyond the health care industry.”
The agents in the CGS PCSP customer service team respond to approximately 56,000 customer inquiries per month from Medicare providers. Throughout 2010, including during the Nashville flood in May 2010, this team demonstrated unparalleled customer focus by not just achieving the goals set by CMS, but exceeding them.
Making an IMPACT on Customers
The CGS Provider Contact Center was ranked first in Provider Satisfaction in the 2010 CMS Medicare Carrier Provider Satisfaction Survey. The monthly results in Quality Call Monitoring, Direct Call Monitoring, and Quality Written Correspondence Monitoring evidenced exceptional customer service, as shown by the following examples:
- The CGS PCC team has implemented a concierge level of service to educate CGS customers and reduce excessive inquiries. CGS now designates individual points of contact to customers who routinely land on its “heavy hitter” list. These designations have successfully helped to reduce call inquiries through effective education and support.
- A Tracking History & Online Reporting (THOR) system enables the PCC team to track and trend all telephone data, to proactively identify potential operational issues impacting customer satisfaction, and to identify the need for additional external customer education and internal agent training.
- During 2010, the CGS Provider Outreach and Education team—consisting of just six staff members—conducted 286 webinars and educated 2,719 providers. The team also hosted 32 contractor-sponsored, face-to-face workshops for more than 1,100 participants. The provider satisfaction for these education opportunities in 2010 was a staggering 97.8%.
About Abbey Dyer
Abbey Dyer is the DME Provider Customer Service Program Director. She has been with CGS for more than 13 years and in the health care field for 19 years. Abbey is an experienced professional with expertise in government contracting, provider enrollment, customer service, claims, and operations management. Prior to joining CGS, Abbey worked for a physician in general practice and an oral and maxillofacial surgeon.
Abbey has a Bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Tennessee. She enjoys hiking and spending time outdoors with her camera, then sharing her work on her website and as a member of the Tennessee Art League.
About CGS
CGS Administrators, LLC provides a variety of services for Medicare beneficiaries, health care providers, and medical equipment suppliers in 33 states, and supports the needs of over 16 million Medicare beneficiaries nationwide. As a Medicare Part A, Part B, Home Health and Hospice, and Durable Medicare Equipment contractor for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CGS processes and pays Medicare claims according to Congressional laws and CMS rules and regulations. For more information go to www.cgsmedicare.com.
More than 250,000 votes were cast in the 2012 People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Customer Service, part of the 6th annual 
What are your top 3 tips on how to be successful in customer service?