BOSTON (March 20, 2006) - Results from a study conducted by HighRoads, the
leading provider of benefits lifecycle management (BLM) solutions,
demonstrate that employers can use competitive auctions to provide quality
health and welfare benefits more affordably. Its first annual price
elasticity survey shows that using a transparent bidding environment reduces
contract costs by more than 15 percent, on average.
The survey is based on the outcomes of nearly 50 request-for-proposal (RFP)
processes by companies with 5,000 employees or more. On average, vendors
revised bids 2-3 times to win a company´s business, reducing fees by 7-21
percent for fully insured and self-insured medical, dental, life, disability
and other benefits plans.
"CFOs and HR executives often feel powerless to control double-digit
healthcare cost increases, especially now as procurement season heats up,"
said Paul Daoust, chairman and CEO of HighRoads. "Our survey shows that
companies don´t have to simply accept these increases - they can use the
power of the marketplace to protect workers´ benefits and meet shareholders´
mandates to govern this leading cost concern."
Information and Insight Delivers Cost Control
HighRoads´ collaborative BLM solutions provide unprecedented levels of
visibility to information across multiple plans, processes and transactions
to support informed decision-making and uncover opportunities for
streamlined management. This insight enables employers and consultants to
provide the highest quality employee health and welfare benefits at
substantially lower costs.
Today´s benefit RFP processes are incredibly resource-intensive, consuming
staff time and relying heavily on paper-based workflows because proposals
come in varying formats. With HighRoads´ solution, customers can conduct the
entire RFP process online, from the creation of a questionnaire to the
acceptance of vendor responses. Bids can be easily weighted, scored and
compared to support fast, informed decision-making. In addition to
compelling vendors to offer better prices, online RFPs:
- Significantly reduce procurement cycle time while allowing more vendors to
participate
- Streamline proposal information in a consistent format, for
apples-to-apples evaluation of vendor bids
- Enable consolidation and reduction in the number of plans, driving
administrative costs even lower
- Automatically generate a comprehensive audit trail that complies with
governmental regulations, including Sarbanes- Oxley
About HighRoads
HighRoads, Inc. (www.HighRoads.com) is the leading provider of Benefits
Lifecycle Management. Its technology-based solutions and services provide
visibility and enable collaboration throughout the design, procurement,
management and communication of employee benefits plans. HighRoads´
comprehensive solutions for managing the benefits supply chain saves large
employers millions of dollars in benefits costs without sacrificing quality.
Clients include some of the world´s largest companies, such as Toyota,
Staples, and Watson Wyatt. Founded in 1999, HighRoads is a privately-held
company that is headquartered in Woburn, Mass.