Overview

Christian Healthcare Ministries (CHM) is a faith-based health cost-sharing ministry that has served individuals and families across the United States for more than 40 years. Members contribute monthly to help cover each other’s eligible medical expenses, providing an affordable alternative to traditional insurance at a time when premiums and inflation are pushing more Americans to seek community-based healthcare solutions. CHM has facilitated the sharing of over $12 billion in healthcare expenses, and its contact center is mission-critical — serving members navigating complex medical claims and difficult healthcare decisions, where every interaction demands knowledgeable, prompt, and compassionate support.

Supernova Award Category

Marketing & Sales Effectiveness

The Problem

As CHM prepared for a tenfold increase in membership, its legacy contact center platform was unable to scale — everything was manual, with no intelligent call routing, no CTI, and a confusing ten-option voice menu that drove nearly half of all callers to press “0” for operator assistance, creating chronic bottlenecks and long wait times. Transfer rates hovered around 48%, agents were buried in routine tasks with no capacity for increased volume, and outbound collections required 22 days of manual dialing to work through a single list. With no budget to simply add more agents, CHM urgently needed technology that could do more with the team they had — while preserving the compassionate, human-centered service their members count on during some of life’s most stressful moments.

The Solution

CHM partnered with contact center specialists Waterfield Tech to evaluate their options, identifying that the core need was intelligent automation — routing, CTI, and outbound dialing — that could absorb 10x membership growth without proportional cost increases. Waterfield recommended the Five9 Intelligent CX Platform for its ability to combine AI-powered intelligent routing, CRM integration, preview dialing, quality management, and number reputation management on a single platform aligned to CHM’s mission and budget. As Wayne Pierce, Operations Manager at CHM, put it: “Waterfield did an excellent job of showing how Five9’s automation, AI, and CRM integration capabilities could create the capacity we needed while reducing costs and boosting engagement from agents and members alike.”

The results

Before: CHM’s contact center was a bottleneck — a ten-option voice menu confused members, 48% of calls required a transfer, outbound collections took 22 days to complete a single dialing cycle, and agents had no capacity to take on growth. Members navigating stressful healthcare situations were met with wait times and transfers instead of answers. After: CHM now identifies 80% of inbound calls automatically and routes members to the right specialist almost immediately. Transfer rates have plummeted from 48% to just 4%. Outbound collections that once took 22 days now complete in 6 — and collection rates have increased 400%. CHM achieved full ROI in under two months, with automation savings equivalent to 13.1 full-time employees. Members now tell the board: “It’s really nice, I get to the right person” — and customer satisfaction, in the words of the team, is “through the roof.”

Metrics

Call transfer rate cut from 48% to 4% 80% of inbound customer calls automatically identified and intelligently routed Late payer collections increased by 400% via Five9 preview dialing Outbound dialing cycle reduced from 22 days to 6 days Full ROI achieved in under two months Automation savings equivalent to 13.1 full-time employees (FTEs) 24/7 member service capability enabled through Five9 automation

The Technology

Five9 Intelligent CX Platform — intelligent routing, CTI, omnichannel Five9 Essentials Quality Management — agent performance insights and coaching Five9 Number Reputation Management — outbound call quality and answer rates Five9 Preview Dialing — automated outbound collections and member outreach Partner: Waterfield Tech (solution design and implementation)

Disruptive Factor

CHM’s transformation is disruptive precisely because of what it achieved with limited resources — a nonprofit ministry with fewer than 500 employees, no budget for a headcount surge, and a mandate to serve members during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives delivered enterprise-grade CX results that many larger organizations haven’t matched. The challenge wasn’t just technical: shifting a faith-based organization from manual, relationship-driven processes to AI-powered routing and automation required change management that honored CHM’s culture of compassionate service while proving that intelligent technology amplifies — rather than replaces — the human touch. The results reframe what’s possible for mission-driven organizations in healthcare: full ROI in under two months, a 92% reduction in transfer rates, and a 400% lift in collections demonstrate that automation can be both efficient and deeply human-centered. For the broader health cost-sharing and nonprofit healthcare sector, CHM has set a new benchmark — showing that organizations at any size and budget can build world-class member experiences when they choose the right platform and partner.

Shining Moment

The moment that defines this transformation isn’t in a spreadsheet — it’s a member calling in about a medical emergency for their child at 11pm and reaching the right person, immediately, without confusion or transfers. CHM’s mission has always been to be there for members when it matters most, and Five9’s automation now makes that possible around the clock. Wayne Pierce captured it simply: “As a parent, you know your child never gets sick neatly between the hours of 8am and 6pm. With Five9 automation we can look at how we can offer services 24/7.” That expansion of care — from business hours to always-on — is what CHM is most proud of: not just the efficiency gains, but the expanded promise to members that someone will always be there.