This Rhode Island healthcare insurance provider isn’t just about healthcare; they are about a comprehensive approach to health and wellness. And the company uses technology to help deliver on this mission. However, challenges in their technology stack, particularly with their Oracle database and applications, created significant roadblocks for the team and organization.

All of its API’s are based in Oracle. These services exchange information to allow members and agents to quickly access information housed in multiple locations. “It is the lifeblood of information that is used to service our members,” said the healthcare provider’s Managing Director of Infrastructure.

Vendor support hinders innovation – and impacts the bottom line 

When the healthcare provider experiences issues or API downtime with Oracle assets, the impacts are deep. “Affordability goes out the window because our agents are taking longer to process calls. Our net promoter scores go down because we’re not able to give information to our members – in the portal or from a live representative,” he said. Even basic tasks, like authenticating members, become manual tasks. Phone representatives and agents have to access individual systems of record in CRM systems and other locations to find information that would normally be served up in one place by the APIs. This results in longer wait times and more time that members have to wait to access services. “it’s just time consuming and starts to impact our operating expenses and even our net promoter score if systems are down for an extended period of time,” he says.  

At the same time, some of the strategic moves recently made by Oracle caused him to rethink the relationship. “Not only was it expensive from a licensing perspective, but I was also concerned about what Oracle is doing in the industry around Java and their approach to licensing,” he said. Oracle’s roadmap, licensing practices, and annual support fees threatened to knock them off of their business-driven roadmap.   

The Rhode Island health insurer’s priorities were to ensure systems were managed efficiently and eliminate downtime, thus protecting the affordability of their programs for patients.  

“We were exploring how to simplify our environments as much as possible and make us more cloud ready,” he said. In order to ensure that they deliver the right service, provide the right data, and keep it consistent across every single channel, they focused on lessening their footprint with Oracle and finding a different product that allows them to manage their APIs abstracted from the application front end. However, this level of strategic planning takes time. 

That’s where Rimini Street stepped in, becoming a pivotal partner in their journey. As a preferred provider of the insurers network association, he knew that Rimini Street was certified to handle the critical nature of patient data and compliance standards.  

Aligning support for Oracle with its mission  

With Rimini Street’s reliable, hassle-free, and cost-effective third-party support for Oracle, the Managing Director of Infrastructure found a solution that aligned with their mission. “Time is a luxury. Rimini Street gives me time. I get the ability to thoughtfully go through and figure out what I’m going to replace Oracle with, and then thoughtfully migrate over there,” he said.  

“Instead of just spending labor to do an Oracle upgrade with no value on the back end, I can take what would’ve been technical debt to upgrade the infrastructure and apply that to the new solution. I don’t have to invest 20% of my labor into doing Oracle upgrades every three to five years,” he explained. With Rimini Street, they can focus on innovation and be much more nimble and flexible in how they operate. Security was also a prime concern, especially considering the sensitive healthcare data they handled. Rimini Street’s support acted as an extra layer of value around protecting their databased and enhancing their vulnerability management practices.  

Making health insurance more affordable  

In addition to saving 50% off their annual maintenance fees, the health insurer is also able to continue running its existing Oracle assets for up to another 15 years from the contract date. This allows them to ignore end-of-support dates and forced upgrades to maintain vendor support. “When we have an opportunity like that to add 15 years’ worth of support to what we already have deployed, it really gives us a lot of flexibility in managing our technology stack,” he said.  

The savings achieved were reinvested, directly impacting the affordability of healthcare plans for their members. The support was more than just technical; it was a catalyst for change and innovation. “Less operating expenses makes healthcare more affordable. Anytime we can give money back from budgets, it directly helps us reduce healthcare plan pricing for Medicare members, individuals, and commercial accounts,” he said.  

The most remarkable aspect of Rimini Street’s support was its seamlessness. “You just deliver on what you commit to doing. And that is really is a wonderful experience – no headaches involved. It never escalates to me, which means it’s being taken care of without me having to get involved,” he said. Rimini Street simply delivered on their promises, allowing his team to focus on innovation rather than firefighting. With Rimini Street’s success, he became more open to exploring similar partnerships for other technologies, recognizing the immense value they could bring. 

His advice to other IT leaders: consider third-party support, as it offers value and reliability that can transform the entire business landscape. His experience with Rimini Street was so positive, that he’s changed his perceptions of third-party support. “We are now much more comfortable using a third-party support provider than we would’ve ever been because you all have shown that it works,” he said.  

Evolving into a springboard for innovation  

The health insurer’s journey wasn’t just about cost savings. It was about delivering tangible value to patients and members. By reducing operating expenses, they made healthcare plans more affordable, a true testament to their commitment. Rimini Street’s involvement extended beyond support – it became a partner in delivering real change. “Rimini Street constantly demonstrates that they know how to do this. They have the right talent, the right security, the right cost structure, and most importantly, they are proactive, easy to deal with, and always do what they say they’re going to do,” he said.  

Rimini Street gave the team more than support – they provided time. Time to thoughtfully plan, migrate, and innovate. Rimini Street’s partnership gave the organization a luxury that is often underestimated in the fast-paced world of technology. With freedom from constant upgrades, Rimini Street gave the Rhode Island health insurance company to freedom to follow its own roadmap, invest in solutions that truly added value, and deliver on its mission. Rimini Street’s support transformed their legacy platform into a springboard for innovation.  

“Time is a luxury. Rimini Street gives me time. I get the ability to thoughtfully go through and figure out what I’m going to replace Oracle with, and then thoughtfully migrate over there.”

– Managing Director of Infrastructure, A Rhode Island healthcare insurance provider