New Employer Participation in Aon Hewitt's Corporate Health Exchange Five Times Higher in 2014; Employee Enrollment Expected to Triple

Multiple U.S. Organizations, Including Walgreens, Will Offer Employees More Choice and Control Over their Health Benefits Through the Nation's Largest Multi-Carrier, Private Health Exchange

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Aon plc

Sep 18, 2013, 08:20 ET

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill., Sept. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Aon Hewitt, the global human resources solutions business of Aon plc (NYSE: AON), today announced that 18 large employers, including Walgreens and 2013 participants Sears Holdings, Darden Restaurants and Aon plc, will offer health benefits this fall through the Aon Hewitt Corporate Health Exchange, the nation's largest multi-carrier private health care exchange. The number of new employers joining Aon Hewitt's exchange in 2014 is five times the number that participated in 2013. Enrollment is expected to triple to more than 330,000 U.S. employees. In total, Aon Hewitt anticipates more than 600,000 U.S. employees and their families will be covered under plans in the Aon Hewitt Corporate Health Exchange in 2014.

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The Aon Hewitt Corporate Health Exchange is part of the company's suite of innovative health solutions designed to help employers implement new and sustainable benefit strategies that meet the individual needs of employees, retirees and their families. Employers offering benefits through Aon Hewitt's exchange in 2014 will enable their active employee populations to choose from a wide range of plan options, carriers and price points during enrollment (see below for a select list of carriers). Participating employers span a variety of industries, including retail and wholesale trade, business and professional services, hospitality, health care, technology and communications, financial and manufacturing.

"Walgreens is proud to be among these leading companies to offer our team members employer-sponsored health insurance coverage through Aon Hewitt's corporate health exchange," said Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, Walgreens senior vice president and chief human resources officer. "We are continuing to invest in the health of our team members and their dependents through expanded choices to personalize their health care coverage in a competitive environment, giving our diverse workforce the flexibility they need to meet their health care needs."

"Over the past decade, the average health care cost for large employers in the U.S. has increased to more than $10,000 per employee, and the amount employees will be asked to contribute is expected to grow much faster than the rate of salary increases," said Ken Sperling, Aon Hewitt's national health exchange strategy leader. "The Aon Hewitt Corporate Health Exchange seeks to mitigate health care cost increases by creating an efficient marketplace that fosters competition at a consumer level and offers an improved employee experience and greater choice for employees. With our market-leading model, employers can minimize cost increases for themselves and their employees while maintaining their commitment to health benefits and enhancing company-wide programs to increase employee health, well-being and engagement."

The Aon Hewitt Corporate Health Exchange features a wide range of consumer-based decision support tools that enable individuals to quickly and easily sort and filter benefit options by price, insurance company and/or plan type using Aon Hewitt's proprietary exchange portal. Similar to the 9 million employees and families for whom Aon Hewitt administers health benefits today, individuals in the Aon Hewitt Corporate Health Exchange will also have access to a wide range of benefits experts and advisors—including Aon Hewitt's industry-leading Advocacy Support team—to answer questions and provide guidance during enrollment and throughout the year.

Of the 100,000 employees who elected health benefits through the Aon Hewitt Corporate Health Exchange in 2013, almost 80 percent of enrollees felt confident they chose the health plan that offered the best value for them and their families, and almost all (93 percent) liked being able to choose among multiple insurance providers.

Multiple research reports show there is growing interest among both employers and employees in private health exchanges. Aon Hewitt's 2013 Health Care survey of nearly 800 large and mid-size U.S. employers covering more than 7 million employees found that 28 percent expect to participate in a private health exchange in the next three-to-five years.

Unlike state or federal marketplaces, the Aon Hewitt Corporate Health Exchange is a private health exchange designed for large employers and offers group health insurance policies that are subject to the same rules that exist in traditional employer-sponsored health benefits.

A pioneer in private health care exchanges, Aon Hewitt's comprehensive suite of solutions includes the Aon Hewitt Corporate Health Exchange, Aon Hewitt Navigators—its retiree health exchange, and its recently launched public education solution, Your Coverage Resources.

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About Aon Hewitt
Aon Hewitt empowers organizations and individuals to secure a better future through innovative talent, retirement and health solutions. We advise, design and execute a wide range of solutions that enable clients to cultivate talent to drive organizational and personal performance and growth, navigate retirement risk while providing new levels of financial security, and redefine health solutions for greater choice, affordability and wellness. Aon Hewitt is the global leader in human resource solutions, with over 30,000 professionals in 90 countries serving more than 20,000 clients worldwide. For more information on Aon Hewitt, please visit www.aonhewitt.com.

About Aon
Aon plc (NYSE:AON) is the leading global provider of risk management, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human resources solutions and outsourcing services. Through its more than 65,000 colleagues worldwide, Aon unites to empower results for clients in over 120 countries via innovative and effective risk and people solutions and through industry-leading global resources and technical expertise. Aon has been named repeatedly as the world's best broker, best insurance intermediary, reinsurance intermediary, captives manager and best employee benefits consulting firm by multiple industry sources. Visit www.aon.com for more information on Aon and www.aon.com/manchesterunited to learn about Aon's global partnership and shirt sponsorship with Manchester United.

Partial List of Insurance Carriers Participating in the Aon Hewitt Corporate Health Exchange:

Aetna, Inc.
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Anthem Blue Cross
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia
Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina
Delta Dental
Florida Blue
Health Care Service Corporation:
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas
Health Net, Inc.
Independence Blue Cross
Kaiser Permanente
MetLife
UnitedHealthcare
VSP® Vision Care