Call center set to bring jobs to city [The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.]

May 31--JOHNSTOWN -- Up to 150 new jobs are coming to Johnstown as a local employer prepares for changes in the health insurance business under federal health reform.

InterMedia Marketing Solutions is adding 300 workers across three call centers, including the Johnstown location at 1003 Broad St. in the Cambria City neighborhood, the company announced Thursday.

The Chester County-based company needs representatives to take customers' calls and handle online queries for several Blue Cross/Blue Shield providers, said Pat Elkins, InterMedia's chief operating officer.

The agents will be needed to prepare for the consumer open enrollment period of the Affordable Care Act, the company said in a press release. It is estimated that 32 million uninsured people will be eligible for insurance when enrollment begins in October.

"We have Blue Cross/Blue Shield organizations that we work with across the country," Elkins said. "Our primary focus is to guide the customers and help them find the plan that best suits their needs."

The local agents will then help enroll customers in the selected health plan.

Qualified applicants include both licensed health insurance agents and those who are interested in acquiring a health insurance license. For those who are not licensed, InterMedia will pay for all training and licensing costs for those hired and who pass the insurance test, Elkins said.

"We have actually been very successful in the past with educating nonlicensed agents, putting them through training and getting them through the test," Elkins said. "We've had a 75 percent pass rate."

Expansion covers some familiar territory for InterMedia, which opened its Johnstown facility in 2001. Similar staff additions were required each year since the 2006 inception of Medicare Part D.

Although the 300 new jobs will also include InterMedia centers in West Chester and Orangeburg, S.C., Elkins said the company would like to find between 100 and 150 new agents for the Johnstown facility.

"For many consumers, this will be the first time they will be choosing a health care insurance provider," Elkins said. "Being able to have a clear conversation with a knowledgeable agent at the health insurance company will go a long way toward giving people the confidence they need to make an informed decision."

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