Press Release

Manasquan, N.J., USA, May 17, 2006 – Open enrollment is the once-a-year opportunity for employees to update health benefits and adjust savings, retirement and flexible spending account contributions. With proper planning, clear communications and robust technical and customer support, employers and health plans can prepare an open enrollment period that provides valuable feedback on consumer healthcare coverage preferences while satisfying employee and member demand for explanatory and comparative information.

During Health Plan Open Enrollment: Strategies to Improve Results, a May 24, 2006 live interactive audio conference sponsored by the Healthcare Intelligence Network (HIN), two industry consultants will provide a template for organizing a successful open enrollment season, with plenty of time to implement these practices by next season. During this 90-minute audio conference, Barbara J. Nilan, communications practice leader at AON Consulting and Paul Harris, senior consultant with Hewitt Associates, will provide inside details on improving the results of your open enrollment season. For more information, please visit the HIN bookstore.

“Decisions made during open enrollment carry significant financial weight for both employees and the health plans they select,” says Melanie Matthews, HIN executive vice president and chief executive officer. The healthcare publisher surveyed customers online on this topic in January and found that while most understood the benefits presented during their organization’s open enrollment period, there were still huge gaps in clarity and reliability of material, technical support, web site usability and availability of support tools to calculate and compare benefits. Registration for the May 24 audio conference includes a free copy of the $19.95 report, Benefits Open Enrollment: What Consumers Want, an eight-page report summarizing the HIN survey results, Matthews added.

The open enrollment period gives health plans and employers feedback on current program offerings so they can tweak benefits according to the financial climate and consumer need. During the May 24, 2006 audio conference, Nilan and Harris will provide details on:

• Making your health plan stand out from the crowd;
• How consumer-driven healthcare plans have changed the open enrollment landscape and what this means for your health plan;
• The role of information technology in open enrollment; and
• What employers and employees want from open enrollment season.

For those who cannot attend the live conference, an on-demand rebroadcast can be accessed beginning May 26, 2006, and a CD-ROM recording with printed transcript will be available in mid-June. To register and obtain details on audio conference formats, please visit: the HIN bookstore.

About the Healthcare Intelligence Network---HIN is the premier advisory service for executives seeking high-quality strategic information on the business of healthcare. For more information, contact the Healthcare Intelligence Network, PO Box 1442, Wall Township, NJ 07719-1442, (888) 446-3530, fax (732) 292-3073, e-mail info@hin.com, or visit http://www.hin.com.

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Contact: Patricia Donovan