June 23, 2021 Retiree Drug Subsidy (RDS) Webinar Listening Session: Secure Website Modernization – Annual Plan Application & Payment Setup Demonstration

On Wednesday, June 23, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS') Retiree Drug Subsidy (RDS) Center hosted a Webinar Listening Session about the upcoming Secure Website Modernization initiative and how this project will impact the RDS Program. Both Plan Sponsors and Vendors were in attendance.

A copy of the slide deck has been published for your reference: RDS Webinar Listening Session: The RDS Secure Website Modernization — Annual Plan Application and Payment Setup Demonstration (pdf, 423KB). The video recordings are not available

Please note that the presentation and the summary below describe the current state of the project as of the event date. The Secure Website design may change as user feedback is incorporated and additional development activities commence.

During the Webinar Listening Session, CMS' RDS Center discussed the following topics:

• RDS Secure Website Modernization
• Introduction to the Enhanced Design
• Annual Plan Application Submission Demonstration
  • Create Application & Banking Information
  • Benefit Options & Actuary
  • Manage Retirees & Review and Submit
  • Copy Application & Manage Designees
• Payment Setup Demonstration
• RDS Support Materials and Listening Session Polling Questions
• Summary

RDS Secure Website Modernization

During this portion of the presentation, CMS’ RDS Center discussed a high-level review of the history of the Secure Website Modernization initiative thus far. This information can be found on slide 5. CMS' RDS Center discussed the following:

• CMS’ RDS Center is modernizing the RDS Secure Website interface with the goal of designing an intuitive, easy to use, empathic system based on Plan Sponsor values, while also considering the needs of the Vendors who support many of them.
• In 2018, CMS’ RDS Center first announced the Secure Website Modernization project and conducted our first Webinar and Feedback session.
• In 2019, CMS' RDS Center recruited volunteers to participate in Listening Sessions to better understand the needs and wants of our users.
• In 2020, CMS' RDS Center recruited volunteers to participate in Usability Testing Sessions to obtain feedback on our early designs.
  • The presentation contains thought bubbles containing direct feedback from our Plan Sponsor & Vendor community captured during those sessions.
• 2021: Listening Session Demo & Additional User Events.

CMS’ RDS Center next spoke to a high-level summary of some of the major enhancements with the new design. This information can be found on slide 6. While the full scope of the project has not yet been implemented, CMS' RDS Center discussed the following:

• The modernized Secure Website will have:
  • New intuitive design
  • Modified screen flows for all sections of the application
  • Fewer number of steps for most processes
  • New and improved functionality
    • Streamlined Application Submission Process, Payment Setup, and Reconciliation flows
    • Fewer Confirmation and Verification screens
    • Updated Page Messaging
    • Copy a previous year’s application
• Updated educational materials, including User Guide documentation and other support materials.

CMS’ RDS Center next spoke to a high-level review of the implementation schedule. This information can be found on slide 7. While the details of the project implementation have not yet been established, CMS' RDS Center discussed the following:

• The project has an estimated implementation in early 2022; additional information will be made available on the RDS Program Website when possible.
• The RDS Secure Website Modernization project is still underway. The screens and flows presented during the Listening Session Webinar may change based on user feedback and continuing development activities.
• During the Listening Session Webinar, CMS’ RDS Center demonstrated new Secure Website pages and flows, and asked polling questions throughout the presentation. User feedback will help CMS’ RDS Center design a website that gives the Plan Sponsor community the best user experience possible.

The polling question "My current RDS Secure Website user role is..." was posed to participants. Results of the poll were as follows:

The polling question "I am relatively familiar with the following RDS processes..." was posed to participants; multiple responses were able to be selected by each participant. Results of the poll were as follows:

Introduction to the Enhanced Design

Following the Secure Website Modernization Overview, CMS' RDS Center reviewed the enhanced navigation elements. This information can be found on slides 9–11.

• The Left Navigation Menu is the primary navigation control throughout the application plan year.
  • The options available to users will be dependent upon their assigned Secure Website user role and privileges.
  • Application sections that are greyed out will be available to the user after a prerequisite step or action has been completed.
• Updated icons present in the Left Navigation Menu are used to communicate information to Secure Website users. Refer to Slide 10 of the slide deck above.
  • No Indicator: Section not started; no feedback to provide.
  • Green Circle Check Mark: Section complete; no errors or warnings identified.
  • Red Triangle Exclamation Point: Section incomplete; errors or warnings identified.
• Updated messaging will be implemented to more concisely convey system information. Refer to Slide 11 of the slide deck above.
  • Red boxes with a circled exclamation point indicate that an error has occurred, and you cannot proceed without some type of data update; users can’t proceed through the intended action until the error is resolved.
  • Yellow boxes with a triangled exclamation point indicate that a page warning is present; the intended action can be accomplished after the user reviews the message and confirms the language; CMS’ RDS Center strongly encourages users to read the warnings and confirm the messaging.
  • Green boxes with a circled check mark are the new Success messages, indicating that the intended action just performed was successful and information has changed without any errors or warnings detected.
  • Blue boxes are purely informational messages; no action is necessarily required for these communications.

Create New Application Demonstration: Create Application & Banking Information

CMS’ RDS Center next presented a pre-recorded audio-visual demonstration of the steps involved in creating a new application and completing the Banking Information portion of the Application Submission Process.

During the Create a New Application portion of the demonstration, CMS’ RDS Center discussed the following:

• Application sections are greyed out until the new Application is saved and the Application ID is created.
• Enhancement: The new Secure Website Application Submission Process is six steps, down from nine steps in the current Secure Website.
• Enhancement: The Application Name (e.g., Plan Name) will be editable throughout the Plan Year in the new design.
• Enhancement: The new Secure Website Application Overview page contains a Team section, containing the Designees and the Actuary assigned to the application.
• Enhancement: The action to request an Application Deadline Extension will be a one-click process, located next to the Application Deadline on the Application Overview page.
• Enhancement: Fewer Confirmation and Verification screens.
• As in the Secure Website today, not all Application Submission steps need to be completed in sequential order. However, some dependencies do exist that require one step to be completed before another (e.g., a user cannot assign an Actuary until Benefit Options are created).
• Updated icons will be present in the Left Navigation Menu to communicate warning and error conditions about Application Submission process steps.

During the Banking Information portion of the demonstration, CMS’ RDS Center discussed the following:

• Enhancement: The term ‘Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Information’ has been updated to ‘Banking Information’ in the new Secure Website to be more intuitive.
• The major functionality of the Banking Information process remains unchanged; the same fields and processes are carried forward into the new Secure Website.
• Enhancement: Plan Sponsors will be provided an option to select a bank account that has been used on a previous application associated with their Plan Sponsor ID, rather than re-typing the information each year.
• Enhancement: Fewer Confirmation and Verification screens.

The polling question "I think the process to start a new Application is an improvement over the current website." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question and to whom the process was applicable, the results of the poll were as follows:

The polling question "I think the process to manage Banking Information is an improvement over the current website." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question and to whom the process was applicable, the results of the poll were as follows:

Create New Application Demonstration: Benefit Options & Actuary

CMS’ RDS Center next presented a pre-recorded audio-visual demonstration of the steps involved in completing the Benefit Options and Actuary steps of the Application Submission Process.

During the Benefit Options portion of the demonstration, CMS’ RDS Center discussed the following:

• Enhancement: The new Benefit Options step is a consolidation of Step 2: Benefit Option and Step 7: Retiree Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Methods and Sources found in the current Secure Website.
• Enhancement: The term ‘Retiree EDI Methods and Sources’ has been updated to ‘Retiree Submission Method’ in the new Secure Website to be more intuitive.
• Enhancement: Response Files and Weekly Notification Files are delivered using the same Retiree Submission Method chosen by the Plan Sponsor for Retiree File submissions, so there are fewer selections to make and fewer screens to navigate through.
• Enhancement: In order to provide greater flexibility and visibility to Plan Sponsors, the RDS Secure Website will always receive copies of Response Files and Weekly Notification Files regardless of the Retiree Submission Method selected, so there are fewer selections to choose between.
• Enhancement: The Benefit Option Name field will be editable throughout the Plan Year in the new design.
• Enhancement: Fewer Confirmation and Verification screens.

During the Actuary portion of the demonstration, CMS’ RDS Center discussed the following:

• Enhancement: The new Actuary step is a consolidation of Step 3: Assign Actuary and Step 4: Attestation Summary found in the current Secure Website.
• The major functionality of the process for assigning the Actuary remains unchanged; the same fields and processes are carried forward into the new Secure Website.
• Enhancement: Fewer Confirmation and Verification screens.
• Enhancement: A warning icon and a warning message will be present on the Actuary step until the Actuary completes the Attestation.
• Enhancement: The Actuary is taken directly to the Attestation page after selecting the Application ID from the Dashboard home page, so there are fewer selections to make and fewer screens to navigate through.
• Enhancement: Security Questions will no longer be needed when an Actuary completes the Attestation.

The polling question "I think the process to manage Benefit Options is an improvement over the current website." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question and to whom the process was applicable, the results of the poll were as follows:

The polling question "I think the process to manage the Actuary is an improvement over the current website." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question and to whom the process was applicable, the results of the poll were as follows:

Create New Application Demonstration: Manage Retirees & Review and Submit

CMS’ RDS Center next presented a pre-recorded audio-visual demonstration of the steps involved in Managing Retirees and completing the Review and Submit step of the Application Submission Process.

During the Manage Retirees portion of the demonstration, CMS’ RDS Center discussed the following:

• The major functionalities involved in the various Manage Retirees processes remain unchanged.
• Enhancement: Important summary of retiree information will be available on the main Manage Retirees landing page in the new design.
• Enhancement: Users may drag and drop retiree files into the new Secure Website for RDS Secure Website Retiree File uploads.
• Enhancement: The new Secure Website will consolidate related functionalities into one holistic view rather than each being on its own page. For example, requesting Covered Retiree Lists (CRLs) and downloading CRLs will both occur on the same page; uploading Retiree Files, viewing the list of uploaded Retiree Files, and downloading Response Files will all occur on the same page.
• The Valid Initial Retiree List (VIRL) will be uploaded into the Retiree and Response Files page.
• As in the current version of the Secure Website, the VIRL will need to be submitted before the expiration of the Application Deadline, and will not be processed until the Application is submitted by the Authorized Representative.
• There have been no significant changes to the Weekly Notification Files process, other than the design and the RDS Secure Website receiving a copy regardless of the selected Retiree Submission Method.
• There have been no significant changes to the Part D Rejection Notification process, other than the design.

During the Review and Submit portion of the demonstration, CMS’ RDS Center discussed the following:

• The Review and Submit page will become available after all other Application Submission steps are complete.
• The Review and Submit page is a read-only page for Account Managers and Designees; the Authorized Representative will still be the only user role able to sign the Plan Sponsor Agreement and submit the Application to CMS’ RDS Center.
• Enhancement: Important Application summary information will be included on the Review and Submit page.
• Enhancement: Security Questions will no longer be needed when the Authorized Representative signs the Plan Sponsor Agreement and submits the Application to CMS’ RDS Center.

The polling question "I think the process to manage Retirees is an improvement over the current website." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question and to whom the process was applicable, the results of the poll were as follows:

The polling question "I think the process to submit the Application is an improvement over the current website." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question and to whom the process was applicable, the results of the poll were as follows:

Create New Application Demonstration: Copy Application & Manage Designees

CMS’ RDS Center next presented a pre-recorded audio-visual demonstration of the steps involved in Copying a Previous Year’s Application and Managing Designees.

During the Copy a Previous Year’s Application portion of the demonstration, CMS’ RDS Center discussed the following:

• Enhancement: CMS’ RDS Center has developed a Copy Application feature, allowing Plan Sponsors to copy a previous Plan Year’s application and only update information that has changed; static information that does not change year over year does not need to be re-entered each Plan Year.
• Enhancement: The Copy Application option will be available on the updated Dashboard home page for Account Managers and Authorized Representatives.
• Enhancement: The Plan Sponsor account will be copied over exactly as it was from the previous year’s application and cannot be edited by the Plan Sponsor.
• Enhancement: The Application Name (i.e., Plan Name) will be copied over exactly as it was from the previous year’s application, but can be edited by the Plan Sponsor.
• Enhancement: The Plan Year Start and End Dates will be advanced one year based on the Plan Year Start and End Dates of the copied application, but can be edited by the Plan Sponsor prior to saving the new application.
• The option to request an Application Deadline Extension will be present in the new application.
• After the copied application is saved, the Left Navigation Menu will be updated with the appropriate status icons based on the information copied over and saved.
• Enhancement: Benefit Options will be copied over exactly as they were defined on the previous year’s application, but can be edited by the Plan Sponsor; the Unique Benefit Option Identifier (UBOI) field cannot be edited. Benefit Options can be added or deleted prior to submitting the application.
• Enhancement: Banking Information will be copied over exactly as it was defined on the previous year’s application, but can be edited by the Plan Sponsor.
• Enhancement: The Actuary will be copied over if the Actuary’s Secure Website user account is ‘Active’; ‘Inactive’ and ‘Expired’ Actuary accounts will not be copied over.
• The Attestation is not copied into the new application; Actuaries must attest to the actuarial equivalence of the Benefit Options for each Plan Year application.
• Designees are not copied into the new application. However, Designees that have been associated with the Plan Sponsor organization on past applications will be available to easily select and add to the current application from a new dropdown list.
• The Valid Initial Retiree List (VIRL) is not copied into the new application; a new VIRL must be submitted prior to the expiration of the Application Deadline for each Plan Year application.
• The signed Plan Sponsor Agreement is not copied into the new application; the Authorized Representative must sign the Plan Sponsor Agreement and submit the application in the Review and Submit step prior to the expiration of the Application Deadline for each Plan Year application.
• Application processes that cannot be completed until an application is approved are not copied into the new application (e.g., Payment Setup).

The polling question "I think the process to copy a previous year’s application is simple and intuitive." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question and to whom the process was applicable, the results of the poll were as follows:

The polling question "I could teach someone to use the Copy feature relatively quickly." was posed to participants. Results of the poll were as follows:

The polling question "I am looking forward to using the new Copy feature." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question and to whom the process was applicable, the results of the poll were as follows:

The polling question "I think the process to manage Designees is an improvement over the current website." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question and to whom the process was applicable, the results of the poll were as follows:

The polling question "I think it would be easy submitting applications in the new Secure Website." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question and to whom the process was applicable, the results of the poll were as follows:

The polling question "I think it would be faster submitting applications in the new Secure Website." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question and to whom the process was applicable, the results of the poll were as follows:

Payment Setup Demonstration

CMS’ RDS Center next presented a pre-recorded audio-visual demonstration of the steps involved in completing Payment Setup.

During the Payment Setup portion of the demonstration, CMS’ RDS Center discussed the following:

• As in today’s Secure Website, Payment Setup becomes available after the application is approved, and may only be completed by the Account Manager or Authorized Representative.
• Enhancement: The new Payment Setup process will be more streamlined and intuitive.
• Enhancement: Fewer Confirmation and Verification screens.
• Enhancement: CMS’ RDS Center updated the names of the process steps to be more consistent with Payment Setup roles and privileges (e.g., Payment Requesters, Identify Cost Reporters, and Assign Cost Reporters to Benefit Options).
• Enhancement: Updated screen messaging to clarify Payment Setup concepts.
• Main Payment Setup Landing Page:
  • From the main Payment Setup landing page, the Plan Sponsor will define the Account Manager’s payment-related privilege. Account Managers are defaulted to have Read-Only privileges for both cost reports and payment requests, however the Plan Sponsor can designate the Account Manager to report costs or request interim payments.
  • Enhancement: From the main Payment Setup landing page, the Benefit Option and Cost Reporter Summary table gives a snapshot of the current Payment Setup configuration.
• Payment Requesters Page:
  • Enhancement: The Plan Sponsor Payment Requesters table summarizes the application’s Payment Requestors.
  • As in the current Secure Website, the Authorized Representative is always granted the Request Payment privilege and must submit the final Reconciliation payment request; this cannot be modified.
  • Enhancement: The Account Manager will be present in the Plan Sponsor Payment Requesters table if they are assigned the Request Payment privilege; the Plan Sponsor can modify the Account Manager privilege by selecting the Manage Privileges hyperlink in the Plan Sponsor Payment Requesters table.
  • Enhancement: Designees will be present in the Plan Sponsor Payment Requesters table if they are assigned the Request Payment privilege; Plan Sponsors will still have the flexibility to add Designees and modify Designee privileges from the Payment Requesters page.
  • As in the current Secure Website, Vendors cannot request payments.
• Identify Cost Reporters Page:
  • Enhancement: Plan Sponsor Cost Reporters and Vendor Cost Reporters are divided into separate sections of the same page with updated language to clarify the concepts related to those cost reporting sources.
  • Enhancement: The Plan Sponsor Cost Reporters table summarizes the application’s Plan Sponsor Cost Reporters; when an individual is assigned the Report Costs privilege and is not associated to a Vendor organization, they are considered a Plan Sponsor Cost Reporter.
  • Enhancement: The Account Manager will be present in the Plan Sponsor Cost Reporters table if they are assigned the Report Costs privilege; the Plan Sponsor can modify the Account Manager privilege by selecting the Manage Privileges hyperlink in the Plan Sponsor Cost Reporters table.
  • Enhancement: Designees will be present in the Plan Sponsor Cost Reporters table if they are assigned the Report Costs privilege and not associated to a Vendor organization; Plan Sponsors will still have the flexibility to add Designees and modify Designee privileges from the Identify Cost Reporters page.
  • Enhancement: The Vendors table summarizes the application’s Vendor Cost Reporters. Plan Sponsors can add Vendor Cost Reporters to the application by selecting the Add a Vendor button and entering the RDS-approved Vendor ID. As in the Secure Website today, Vendors must have already completed their onboarding to be found by the system, and must communicate their Vendor ID to their Plan Sponsors outside of the Secure Website.
  • Enhancement: Plan Sponsors can assign a Designee to a Vendor organization by selecting the Manage Vendor Designees option from the Actions dropdown list in the Vendor table. Plan Sponsor Designees that have Benefit Options assigned directly to them cannot be assigned as Vendor Designees. As in today’s Secure Website, by assigning a Designee to a Vendor, that individual is given permission to view or report cost data for the Vendor. CMS’ RDS Center strongly encourages the assignment of Vendor Designee Cost Reporters.
• Assign Cost Reporters to Benefit Options Page:
  • Enhancement: One page to make all assignments simultaneously. Plan Sponsors will use the Benefit Option and Cost Reporter table to associate Cost Reporters to Benefit Options. The table headers will be populated with each Cost Reporter (i.e., Plan Sponsor Cost Reporters and/or Vendor Cost Reporters). The left-most column will be populated with each Benefit Option. Plan Sponsors simply select or de-select the checkbox for each Cost Reporter/Benefit Option combination to make their assignments.
  • Enhancement: No need to assign a Reporting Method to a Cost Reporter. Plan Sponsor Cost Reporters are defaulted to Manual Data Entry via the RDS Secure Website; Vendor organizations, and their associated Vendor Designees, inherit the Reporting Method associated with the Vendor ID established during Vendor onboarding.
  • Enhancement: A Cancel Changes button is present to reset the page back to the most recently saved Cost Reporter/Benefit Option assignments.

The polling question "I think the new Payment Setup is an improvement over the current website." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question and to whom the process was applicable, the results of the poll were as follows:

The polling question "I think the process to manage Designee Cost Reporters is an improvement over the current website." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question and to whom the process was applicable, the results of the poll were as follows:

The polling question "I think the process to manage Vendor Cost Reporters is an improvement over the current website." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question and to whom the process was applicable, the results of the poll were as follows:

The polling question "I think the process to manage Benefit Option-Cost Reporter assignments is an improvement over the current website." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question and to whom the process was applicable, the results of the poll were as follows:

The polling question "I think it would be easy to complete Payment Setup this way." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question and to whom the process was applicable, the results of the poll were as follows:

The polling question "I think it would be faster to complete Payment Setup this way." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question and to whom the process was applicable, the results of the poll were as follows:

RDS Support Materials and Listening Session Polling Questions

During this portion of the presentation, CMS’ RDS Center asked the participants the following polling questions in relation to the educational support materials available on the Public Website and in relation to the day’s event.

The polling question "I use/have used the RDS Welcome Kit and this feature is/was important to my understanding of the RDS Program." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question and to whom the material was applicable, the results of the poll were as follows:

The polling question "I use/have used the RDS Job Aids and this feature is/was important to my understanding of the RDS Program." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question and to whom the material was applicable, the results of the poll were as follows:

The polling question "I use/have used RDS TV training videos and this feature is/was important to my understanding of the RDS Program." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question and to whom the material was applicable, the results of the poll were as follows:

The polling question "I use/have used the RDS Reconciliation Toolkit and this feature is/was important to my understanding of the RDS Program." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question and to whom the material was applicable, the results of the poll were as follows:

The polling question "I use/have used the RDS Quick Start Guides and this feature is/was important to my understanding of the RDS Program." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question and to whom the material was applicable, the results of the poll were as follows:

The polling question "I use/have used the RDS Technical Articles and this feature is/was important to my understanding of the RDS Program." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question and to whom the material was applicable, the results of the poll were as follows:

The polling question "I use/have used the RDS Common Questions and this feature is/was important to my understanding of the RDS Program." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question and to whom the material was applicable, the results of the poll were as follows:

The polling question "I use/have used the RDS User Guide and this feature is/was important to my understanding of the RDS Program." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question and to whom the material was applicable, the results of the poll were as follows:

The polling question "I thought today’s session was a good use of my time." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question, the results of the poll were as follows:

The polling question "I would attend future sessions on other RDS topics if they are offered." was posed to participants. Of the participants who responded to the question, the results of the poll were as follows:

Summary

During this portion of the presentation, CMS’ RDS Center summarized the Listening Session Webinar topics that were covered during the event. The RDS Secure Website Modernization project is still underway. The screens and flows presented during the Listening Session Webinar may change based on user feedback and continuing development activities.

• RDS Secure Website Modernization
• Introduction to the Enhanced Design
• Annual Plan Application Submission Demonstration
  • Application Submission
  • Designee Management
  • Retiree Management
• Payment Setup Demonstration
• Polling Questions
• Summary

Please submit any additional comments or questions by opening an RDS Secure Website Support Request or submitting an email to CMS' RDS Center: RDS@cms.hhs.gov.