New Platform to Allow Employees To Fund their 401(k) Accounts With Wellness Incentives
BOSTON & MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Fidelity Investments®, a leading provider of employer benefits outsourcing services, today announced an alliance with RedBrick Health to provide employers and their employees with an integrated health engagement platform to better control health care costs and help employees reap financial rewards for healthy behaviors. The alliance enhances Fidelity’s comprehensive Health & Welfare offering by connecting the important role health programs play in curbing costs while improving long-term employee health and productivity.
“Employers are struggling to manage rising health care costs for their workers and increasing engagement in health management programs is one very effective way of doing that for both the employer and the employee,” said James M. MacDonald, president of Workplace Investing at Fidelity Investments. “By partnering with RedBrick Health, Fidelity Health & Welfare clients can provide employees with an engaging and individualized experience that goes beyond wellness programs to tie their levels of participation in their health directly to a wide range of financial rewards, which can be used to lower health care premiums, fund a health savings account (HSA) or even fund a participant’s 401(k) plan.”
RedBrick Health’s platform leverages innovative technology to create a dynamic and rewarding participant experience. The solution starts by helping participants understand their health status by taking them through a concise and highly interactive online health assessment. The results are combined with the participant’s biometric screening and health care utilization history and run through RedBrick Health’s engagement engine to produce a unique Personal HealthMap™. Each participant’s Personal HealthMap links to tailored health improvement programs based on the participant’s profile. Customized communications are delivered at intervals determined by the employer and employee to help participants track progress and earn financial rewards.
RedBrick Health will work with employers to select wellness, disease and chronic care management programs for their diverse workforce. These tailored programs focus on obesity and physical fitness, smoking cessation, diabetes, cholesterol and blood pressure, chronic disease management, and lifestyle coaching programs aimed at improving diet and nutrition. Once the Fidelity and RedBrick Health platform is launched, employers and participating employees receive ongoing measurement and strategic feedback to evaluate the effectiveness of the programs and services offered. Employees can access their programs online and view financial incentives earned.
“In order to drive down expenses and improve employee health, many companies are asking workers to be more accountable for their health decisions and behaviors, as well as their share of the cost,” said Kyle Rolfing, chief executive officer, RedBrick Health.
“Companies that utilize RedBrick’s platform are enjoying employee engagement rates that run three to five times industry norms, as well as year-over-year reductions in costly health risks among those individuals who choose to engage in their health,” Rolfing said. “These improvements set the stage for healthier workforces, lower healthcare costs, and solid returns on investment for employer and employee alike. Plus, the ability to fund a 401(k), HSA and other benefit programs by making healthy lifestyle decisions is an exciting next step to the growing popularity of wellness programs.”
Rewards Can Reduce Health Care Premiums or Fund 401(k) Plans and HSAs
The platform gives employers a method to compensate actively engaged employees based on their levels of participation and healthy behavior. Employers can choose from a range of incentive offers, including applying rewards toward health care premium reductions, contributions to HSAs or funding an employer-sponsored retirement plan such as a 401(k). If the feature is offered by an employer, participating employees could elect to have an employer contribution made to their retirement account as a reward. This unique feature leverages the strengths of both companies: Fidelity as the nation’s No. 1 provider of defined contribution retirement plans1, and RedBrick Health, an innovator in health and wellness programs. No other health improvement program helps participating employees build both healthy and secure financial futures on one platform.
About RedBrick Health
RedBrick Health is a health technology and services company that drives sustained engagement in health improvement programs through constant innovation and deep consumer insight. The company's health engagement platform blends a fresh, personalized consumer experience, impactful social networking tools and rewards that link individual financing to healthy behaviors. As a result, RedBrick Health delivers employers engagement rates far exceeding industry norms and the ability to fairly and responsibly control costs through increased employee accountability. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Minneapolis, RedBrick Health serves large, self-insured employers and strategic distribution partners. For more information, visit www.redbrickhealth.com.
About Fidelity Investments
Fidelity Investments is one of the world’s largest providers of financial services, with assets under administration of over $3.1 trillion, including managed assets of $1.4 trillion, as of June 30, 2010. Founded in 1946, the firm is a leading provider of investment management, retirement planning, portfolio guidance, brokerage, benefits outsourcing and many other financial products and services to more than 20 million individuals and institutions, as well as through 5,000 financial intermediary firms. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit www.fidelity.com.
Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC
900 Salem Street,
Smithfield, RI 02917
RedBrick Health and Fidelity Investments are independent entities and are not legally affiliated.
© 2010 FMR LLC. All rights reserved
557064.1.0
1PlanSponsor, November, 2009.
CONTACT:
Fidelity Investments
Corporate Communications, 617-563-5800
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