Cześć, jak mogę Ci pomóc? (Also known as, “Hello, how may I help you?” in Polish.)
If you’re walking the UnitedHealthcare offices in downtown Chicago, chances are you’ll hear Polish being spoken as part of a customer service call department. That’s hardly a surprise when you consider that the Chicago area is home to approximately 1.5 million people of Polish descent. What might be a surprise, however, is learning that UnitedHealthcare has an entire team dedicated to serving the region’s large Polish community.
“Chicago has had a sizable Polish community since the 19th century,” said Maggie DelReal, vice president of Medicare sales for UnitedHealthcare. “As we focused our efforts on growing our Polish membership, establishing a dedicated customer service team fluent in the language to handle Medicare inquiries made perfect sense.”
The Polish customer service center has been in operation for more than five years, providing information and resources to educate residents about UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage. Nationally, UnitedHealthcare is the only health insurance company with a Polish-language customer service offering.
Common inquiries include questions on Medicare-related plan options, benefits, claims processing, prescription coverage and finding local specialists who speak Polish.
“Our compassionate customer service advocates are always ready to answer questions about our broad range of Medicare products, schedule appointments and help manage our Polish members’ health,” said Olivier Wasilewski, a UnitedHealthcare Medicare agent.
The customer service department started serving the Chicago area in 2014 and due to its popularity with the Polish community has expanded to serve a national Polish audience. The department fields approximately 60 calls per day – with an increase in call volume during the busy annual open enrollment season from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7.
“We’ve established really great relationships with our Polish members,” Olivier said. “Many of the agents, including myself, have personally received thank you letters from callers that appreciate the service they received from the Polish customer service department.”
In addition to the dedicated customer service center, UnitedHealthcare has agents in the field that speak the language and can offer Polish-language marketing materials, plus a Polish-language summary of benefits and coverage for Medicare plans.
“It’s our mission at UnitedHealthcare to help provide the Polish community with everything they need when it comes to choosing their Medicare plan from their first contact with us all throughout their membership,” DelReal said. “We are very proud to have become a part of the Polish community in both Chicagoland and across the country.”
Na zdrowie! (To good health!)