<0> California State Association of Counties Partners With Towers Watson </0>
<0> for Towers WatsonMelanie Meharchand, +1 650-292-8717orCSACGregg Fishman, +1 916-327-7500 ext. 516 </0>
The California State Association of Counties (CSAC) Finance Corporation and Extend Health, a Towers Watson company (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW), today announced a partnership that will allow California counties to provide health benefits for their Medicare-eligible retirees and dependents on the nation’s largest private Medicare exchange. Extend Health was acquired by global professional services company Towers Watson in 2012 and operates as Towers Watson’s Exchange Solutions business segment.
“The CSAC Finance Corporation is dedicated to offering effective, cost-saving programs and services that contribute to the economic well-being of California’s counties,” said Nancy Parrish, CSAC Finance Corporation’s Executive Director. “We conducted a competitive bid process to identify the best provider for our Medicare health coverage solution and Towers Watson’s Medicare exchange was the clear leader. Our counties are under mounting pressure to maximize the value of every tax dollar spent while meeting their commitments to those who have worked to serve California residents in their careers. This partnership allows California counties to increase their retirees’ health coverage options, and gives them expert advice to pick the best coverage for them with a program that is cost-effective and sustainable for the county.”
The Medicare exchange is a foundational component of Towers Watson’s OneExchange suite of proven, end-to-end and seamlessly integrated exchange solutions. It offers thousands of private Medicare plans from more than 85 health insurance carriers in addition to licensed benefit advisors and technology-based decision support tools, which provide personalized guidance to retirees. Nearly 300 public and private sector employers and trade associations have used the Medicare exchange to connect over a half million customers with health coverage.
“Through the exchange, we are able to provide our retirees a wide choice of high-quality Medicare plans as well as expert advice to help them choose among them,” said Kathy Foster, Assistant Chief Executive Officer of the Alameda County Employees' Retirement Association (ACERA), which gave its retirees access to the private Medicare exchange this year. “With the Medicare exchange we have been able to provide Alameda County retirees with high-quality health coverage as an alternative to a high-cost group plan that was becoming unsustainable.”
“We support CSAC’s mission of ensuring retired county employees and their families have access to a wide range of Medicare plan choices at competitive prices, as well as guided support during the selection process and beyond,” said Bryce Williams, Managing Director of Exchange Solutions for Towers Watson and founder of Extend Health. “With our California roots, we take special pride in being able to offer our services in the communities where many of us live and work.”
The California State Association of Counties is the voice of California’s 58 counties at the state and federal level.
Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) is a leading global professional services company that helps organizations improve performance through effective people, risk and financial management. The company offers solutions in the areas of benefits, talent management, rewards, and risk and capital management. The company acquired Extend Health, operator of the nation's largest Medicare exchange, in 2012. Towers Watson has 14,000 associates around the world and is located on the web at .