Asparity extends free usage period for PlanSmartChoice online tool for federal employees

Asparity Decision Solutions is pleased to announce that www.PlanSmartChoice.com will continue to be available free to all federal employees during the 2010 open season, which begins November 9, 2009. Federal employees use the PlanSmartChoice online tools to evaluate their health plan options and make informed choices about the medical, dental, and vision plans available through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.

Asparity’s PlanSmartChoice is cost-free for all federal employees and the site can be easily accessed through its easy-to-find Web portal. The health plan selection tools help employees to:

• Learn which medical plan best meets their personal needs and financial circumstances
• Estimate their total health care costs (including out-of-pocket expenses and employee premiums) based on their own need for medical services
• Understand flexible spending and health savings accounts and determine how much to set aside
• Compare detailed benefits across their medical, dental, and vision plan options.

“Federal employees are fortunate to have an excellent choice of health insurance products in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program,” said Colleen M. Murphy, Asparity’s President and CEO. “By spending a few minutes using the PlanSmartChoice tools, they can rest assured that they’ve chosen the health insurance plan that best provides for their own personal and financial situation.”

Asparity has created a communications package that helps federal agencies convey the benefits of using PlanSmartChoice to their employees. The package, which is also available free, includes a link to the PlanSmartChoice site, sample employee communication documents, participation in health fairs, and train-the-trainer sessions to educate HR representatives about the tools. Moreover, in order to evaluate the advantages of decision support, Asparity provides federal agencies with an annual report detailing federal employees’ buying behavior and health plans’ performance. Government leaders, as well as health plans, can use the results to drive health care strategy and control health care costs.

In 2009, federal employees, who had an average choice of 21 medical plan options, as well as dental, vision, and tax savings plans, were most concerned with the cost of their health care. Federal employees who used PlanSmartChoice evaluated financial issues when selecting a medical plan, learned that the total cost of health care varied significantly by health plan, enrolled in more cost-effective plans, and reported that cost concerns drove their decision to switch plans. On average, these federal employees spent four to five percent of their annual income on health care (PlanSmartChoice users had an average income of $83,000) and enrolled in the flexible spending account to further control their annual health care costs. “In other words, federal employees who used the PlanSmartChoice tools were excellent health care consumers,” explained Murphy.

Asparity has added a new feature to the health plan selection tools in 2010 called PlanSmartChoice Plus. Using its proprietary PlanSmartChoice Plus rating system, Asparity determined how well the plans performed in terms of personal preferences, total costs, and satisfaction measures for federal employees in 2009. Nine plans achieved a five-point overall performance rating, and these plans represent a mix of national, regional, and closed plans:

• National Plans: APWU Health Plan (CDHP, Standard), GEHA High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP, High), NALC (FFS, High), and SAMBA (FFS, Standard)
• Regional Plans: BCBS Service Benefit Plan (HDHP, Standard), Kaiser Health Plan of Georgia (HMO, High), Kaiser Health Plan of California (HMO, High), and Health America Pennsylvania (HDHP, High)
• Closed Plans: Foreign Service Benefit Plan (FFS, High)