Products May 18, 2006

Fidelity, WebMD Offer HSA Health Planning Tool

May 18, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Fidelity Investments' largest defined contribution outsourcing clients will have access to a new suite of health care cost planning tools as part of Fidelity's HSA (health savings account) product.
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A Fidelity news release said the added materials are coming as a result of its stepped-up relationship with WebMD, an online medical information company.  

According to the announcement, Fidelity and WebMD are implementing a new tool to let employees better estimate their retirement health care costs. The added capability is expected to be available in time for the 2006 benefits enrollment season. When it is available, the announcement said that 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.

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 personalized view of health care options, the announcement said.

“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, in the news release. “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.”

Available via Fidelity’s NetBenefits Web site, the news release said employees participating in benefits plans recordkept by Fidelity, can access the integrated HSA solution to:

  • 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,
  • better manage their health with access to up-to-date health and drug information, content and alerts, and
  • estimate individual health care costs and determine appropriate HSA contribution levels to cover both current and retirement health care expenses.

For more information about Fidelity, go to www.Fidelity.com .

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