Overview
The administration office at my tribe’s reservation conducts rolling enrollment in what is called an Eye Voucher Program. Through enrolling at the office, they are able to receive a voucher to take to a number of eye doctors that takes up to $300 off their bill, usually covering the exam and a basic pair of glasses if the member does not have insurance.
I changed an eye voucher redemption process that’s over 20 years old and expanded it to a quick online portal.
In moving the enrollment process to also be available online, we:
- bolstered the partnership between our tribe and participating doctor’s offices
- increased tribal member participation in the eye voucher program by 34%
- expanded our enrollment to those without means of transportation to enroll and obtain their physical voucher
- increased the turnaround time for redeeming vouchers by 112%
Problems
After doing a high-level review of the process, discussing years of anecdotal stakeholder feedback, and comparing it to other online services available now, we found three main issues with the eye voucher enrollment process.
Inefficient
Members have to make two trips to the office to verify their identity and one of the IDs that need to be shown is already provided by that office and is already on file.
Inconvenient
Members often have to take time off of work participate during business hours. These trips are also in addition to the out-of-town trip to the eye doctor.
Stagnant
This process has been the same for over 20 years, without no updates to reflect participants paying bills, networking, and participating in other tribal projects online.
Obstacles
- Every administrative process change involving members and federally funded programs needs to be approved by the board.
- The administrator who processes the eye voucher may push back since they have been doing this process for over 20 years.
- Distribution of information is a challenge for the tribe, so adoption of this enrollment method may be slow, or even nonexistent.
Goals
Inefficient Efficient
Enrollment in the program should require as few steps as possible, especially for members that regularly participate.
Inconvenient Convenient
Members and administrators should feel like this is a quick, simple process because it requires relatively little information.
Stagnant Innovative
The enrollment process should reflect and use available technology to increase participation in the program.
Strategy
Discovering sources and solutions to problems
I personally met with the administrator and the board to discuss their goals for the program and what parts could be improved.
Tribal members who participated in the program were asked to fill out an anonymous, optional survey to evaluate their experience.
I met with the board again, where we listed ways to remove steps, make things easier on the members, and work in a new direction.
Ideas:
- Optionally keeping IDs on file
- Fillable PDFs completed in advance
- Less frequent address verification
- Allowing all info to be emailed
- Night/Weekend hours once a month
- Hosting quarterly signup events
Considerations
Information security
- State ID information would be exchanged online
- Errors in forms: Forms would need to be redone if there is an error.
Inclusivity. Not all members…
- have online access
- have reliable modes of transportation
- can afford the trips to the office
- can take off work during business hours
Providing Autonomy to Members
We used the concerns on both sides about processing times to work together and reduce wait time and processing time by allowing the member to submit their information online, or pre-fill their enrollment forms.
Execution
The board, administrator, and I worked together to turn these concerns into opportunities for change.
Embraced Digital Documentation
Allowing this made many of our brainstorming ideas possible, which already adds speed and convenience to the process.
Offered Optional Data Retention
Retaining IDs allows the office to cut the number of documents needed in half, again increasing speed and adding convenience to the member
Provided Autonomy to Members
We used the concerns on both sides about processing times to work together and reduce wait time and processing time by allowing the member to submit their information online, or pre-fill their enrollment forms.
Results
One year after the project was rolled out to members, the board had the following outcomes:
Participation Boom
The tribe noticed much more participation than expected.
Faster turnaround times
What was once a two-week process is now about three days.
Reflection
There are many possibilities that can come of this product. It can be expanded to other services we provide in-house like healthcare and housing. The tribe could even share or license it to other tribes like the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma.
