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Fidelity HSASM Integrates WebMD Health Management Tools
To Facilitate Personalized Healthcare and Retirement Planning
BOSTON and NEW YORK, May 18, 2006 - Fidelity Investments and WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ: WBMD) today announced the expansion of their relationship to integrate WebMD's health care cost planning tools with the Fidelity HSASM, Fidelity's health savings account (HSA) product launched in December. The integrated solution will be offered to Fidelity's largest defined contribution outsourcing clients, as more employers seek ways to help their workers become more educated, cost-conscious health care consumers.
The integrated HSA offering is the first employer solution to incorporate a health savings account with health care cost and retirement planning and management tools. As part of the expanded agreement, Fidelity and WebMD are jointly implementing a new tool that will allow employees to estimate their individual health care costs in retirement.
Available for the 2006 benefits enrollment season, the Fidelity HSA product will enable employers to provide their employees with a centralized portal for integrated health care and retirement planning that is accessible through a single sign-on. Here, employees can learn more about their individual health care needs, compare and contrast available health plans, calculate HSA contributions, assess overall retirement readiness, and begin saving for their future health care and retirement needs.
"Today's workers still don't fully understand the enormous impact future medical costs could have on their retirement savings," said Kevin McLaughlin, senior vice president, Fidelity Human Resources Services Company. "Recognizing this, employers are now looking to offer more integrated health care and retirement planning capabilities from a trusted provider to help increase their employees' retirement-readiness. Fidelity is very pleased to collaborate with WebMD to provide solutions that will help employees make better decisions to improve their financial security in retirement."
According to Fidelity's Spring 2006 Retirement Index, the typical American worker underestimated by 60 percent1 the $200,000 that an average couple retiring today will likely need to cover basic retiree medical expenses.2 These findings indicate that many Americans are still unaware of how much these costs could dilute their retirement savings. In fact, more than half of those who underestimated retiree medical costs admitted they had simply guessed, having little idea of how much they would actually need.
A New Level of Personalization
Recognizing that every worker's circumstances are different, WebMD's health decision support platform takes into consideration an individual's personal health status, regional health care costs data and local provider quality data to present a highly personalized view of healthcare options.
"With the advent of consumer-directed health care, WebMD is committed to providing consumers with personalized health information to help make more informed health care decisions, both today and in the future," said Wayne Gattinella, CEO and president, WebMD.
Integrated Health Care and Retirement Planning Capabilities
Available via Fidelity's award-winning NetBenefitsSM Web site, employees participating in benefits plans recordkept by Fidelity, can access the integrated HSA solution to:
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Make educated decisions regarding benefits and health care services by using health care cost and comparison tools that cover both health plans and medical services |
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Better manage their health with access to up-to-date health and drug information, content and alerts |
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Estimate individual healthcare costs and determine appropriate HSA contribution levels to cover both current and retirement health care expenses |
Fidelity's relationship with WebMD allows Fidelity to enhance its Health Meets WealthSM platform, which emphasizes the holistic planning of health and retirement needs for the millions of employees that Fidelity serves today through its employer workplace benefits business.
About Fidelity Employer Services Company
Fidelity Employer Services Company provides benefits and human resources administration, talent planning, payroll solutions and stock plan services to more than 20 million employees in the U.S. as of April 30, 2006.
About Fidelity Investments
Fidelity Investments is one of the world's largest providers of financial services, with custodied assets of more than $2.6 trillion, including managed assets of $1.3 trillion as of April 30, 2006. Fidelity offers investment management, retirement planning, brokerage and human resources and benefits outsourcing services to more than 22 million individuals and institutions as well as through 5,500 financial intermediary firms. The firm is the largest mutual fund company in the United States, the No. 1 provider of workplace retirement savings plans, one of the largest mutual fund supermarkets and a leading online brokerage firm. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit www.fidelity.com.
About WebMD
WebMD Health Corp. (Nasdaq: WBMD) is a leading provider of health information services to consumers, physicians, healthcare professionals, employers and health plans. Through our public online portals, WebMD enables health-involved consumers and clinically active physicians to readily access healthcare information relevant to their specific areas of interest and specialty. Through our private online portals, WebMD provides an integrated platform for employers and health plans to enable their employees and plan members to make more informed benefit, treatment and provider decisions. WebMD Health Corp. is a subsidiary of Emdeon Corporation (NASDAQ: HLTH).
1April 2006 Fidelity survey of more than 2,000 working Americans aged 25 and older and earning at least $20,000 in household income.
2Source: Fidelity Consulting, 2006. Assumes no employer-provided retiree health coverage and life expectancies of 17 years for a male and 20 years for a female. Estimate does not include long-term care costs.
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Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Company LLC
82 Devonshire Street, Boston MA 02109
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