Dive Brief:
- Fidelity Investments is moving into direct competition with large benefits brokers such as Aon Hewitt and Mercer, as the large money management firm is now serving as a broker for health insurance and related plans to small and midsized employers.
- Yesterday, the investment behemoth launched the Fidelity Health Marketplace, which offers single point access to health and wellness benefits from its network of national and regional medical, dental, vision and life benefits, in addition to tax-savings options and access to wellness tools and programs. According to Fidelity, several customers in Massachusetts and New York are already using the marketplace under a pilot program.
- With Fidelity's new program, employers can offer a larger number of health plans for their workers than they could as a single business. Fidelity adds that employers will still control what insurers their employees can choose from.
Dive Insight:
Fidelity said in a statement that while the private healthcare exchange market continues to grow, small and midsized employers have largely been left out of the private exchange boom, as many brokerage firms have historically focused on larger companies.
Joe Laurin, president of Fidelity Health Marketplace, explained that today's technology means practically anything can be done online and benefits should be no different, regardless of business size.
Laurin noted that as health care regulation, complexity and cost increase, and benefits selection becomes more consumer-driven, employers need help simplifying the experience for their employees. And that means more than simply education on which benefits to choose during annual enrollment.