Louisville, Ky. (November 1, 2005) – SHPS, one of the nation’s largest providers of health spending accounts, announced today it will eliminate the monthly card fee for its new, technologically-advanced health spending account debit card. The new card gives participants easy payment access to virtually all national healthcare providers.

In addition to eliminating monthly fees for most clients, the card offers SHPS participants the advantage of combining all their health spending accounts onto a single card. Card holders will have access to multiple accounts, including flexible spending accounts (FSAs), health reimbursement accounts (HRAs), and health savings accounts (HSAs) to better manage their tax-exempt healthcare dollars. Participants will also benefit from improved adjudication of their purchases, making the card virtually hassle-free.

“We’re very excited about launching the new debit card, as it completely changes the dynamics of the spending account industry. It eliminates the monthly cost, access and adjudication concerns for employers and participants,” said Rishabh Mehrotra, SHPS’ president, human resource solutions and chief technology officer.” This new card also underscores SHPS’ focus and investment in being a technology innovator in healthcare spending accounts.”

The reduced cost and convenience of the card are expected to significantly increase employee participation in spending account programs, furthering the trend toward healthcare consumerism and boosting employers’ cost savings. Clients who work with SHPS to automate claim validation can expect to see significant savings in monthly fees per participating employee.

“As a result of SHPS’ industry-leading auto-substantiation rates, we’re able to process our spending account claims very efficiently and pass along the savings,” added Mehrotra. “Eliminating monthly fees for the new debit card is SHPS’ way of thanking clients for working with us to achieve high auto-substantiation rates and increased productivity through access to health claims data.”

The new card is being launched with 20 large employers as part of a new SHPS communication campaign to increase employee awareness of spending accounts as a core employee benefit. In addition to the card, SHPS is providing clients a wide range of spending account-themed materials to generate employee interest, including posters, electronic Flash® promotions, videos, direct mail, e-mail alerts, enrollment reminder phone calls, and “scratch-and-win” cards for use in benefit fairs.

About SHPS
SHPS provides a broad range of innovative health management tools, resources and services that empower consumers to make wise healthcare decisions. With comprehensive services that transform consumer health behaviors, SHPS’ integrated delivery system maximizes the value of consumers’ and employers’ healthcare dollars. Among its many clients, SHPS serves large and mid-sized employers, health insurance carriers, third party administrators, Medicare Part D providers and government agencies. The company employs registered nurses and health professionals, employee benefit specialists and IT experts in facilities across the United States. Visit www.shps.com.

For More Information
Sarah Bovine
Director, Corporate Communications
sarah.bovine@shps.com

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