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| Benefitfocus Announces Major Expansion |
| 140,000 Square Feet of Office Space to House Software Company’s Corporate Headquarters and 600 South Carolina High Tech Jobs
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CHARLESTON, S.C., - Thursday, October 19, 2006 – Benefitfocus, the leader in software and services for the healthcare benefits market, will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony today for its new international corporate headquarters located in Charleston, SC on Daniel Island. Joining the Benefitfocus staff will be South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and M. Edward Sellers, President and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Carolina. The new state-of-the-art 140,000 square foot facility is the result of a 25 million dollar capital investment. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 100 Benefitfocus Way on Daniel Island at 1:30 pm. Charleston business and media professionals are invited to attend.
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The new Benefitfocus headquarters will be home to the 300 current Benefitfocus Associates. In addition, 300 new high technology positions are expected to be filled within the next 36 months. Job opportunities range in scope from software development and engineering positions to customer relationship and project management opportunities.
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The facility was completed in 9.5 months; one of the fastest commercial builds in Charleston. In keeping with that spirit, the move went quickly too. “We accomplished a zero down time move,” said Mason Holland, Chairman of the Board for Benefitfocus. “We started at 6:01 pm on Friday and the move was complete at noon on Saturday. We were up and running at 100% on Monday morning with no impact on customer service and a first class facility for our fantastic staff.”
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“Our list of clients is growing rapidly,” says Shawn Jenkins, President and CEO of Benefitfocus. “In order to keep up with the explosive demand for technology in the healthcare industry, we will need to continue to expand our highly-skilled workforce of engineering and technology associates. Our goal is to continue to drive technology innovation and opportunity in South Carolina.”
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Benefitfocus’ client list includes premier national and international corporations in all fifty US states, Puerto Rico and twenty-six countries. It touches 40 million lives and serves 89,000 corporate clients and 22 health plans. Benefitfocus has a large concentration of health insurance partners in the Southeast and the Midwest. In 2005 and 2006, Benefitfocus has expanded its health plan network by developing partnerships with large national insurance plans in the northeastern and western United States.
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These companies use Benefitfocus technology to streamline the administration of health care. The technology allows consumers, employers and benefit providers to manage complex decisions in an ever-changing healthcare environment. Benefitfocus currently offers five products designed to streamline healthcare benefits management for individual consumers, employers, health plans, financial institutions and brokers. Benefitfocus products can be purchased separately but together form an integrated suite offering an end-to-end healthcare benefit management solution.
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The coming months promise to be very exciting and rewarding time for Benefitfocus. “We have experienced tremendous growth since our founding in 2000 and we’ve been recognized as the fastest growing technology company in our state,” says Shawn Jenkins, President and CEO of Benefitfocus.com, Inc.
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Benefitfocus has officially been recognized as the fastest growing technology company in the state as well as one of the most dynamic in the United States. The South Carolina Technology Alliance databases and technology records, as well as other state economic development databases available to SCTA, support this top ranking.
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The demand for healthcare technology is growing as the industry is experiencing a fundamental shift due to the $2 trillion spent annually in the United States. For such a vital business, healthcare is the most complex, un-automated, paper-dependent industry in America. This results in approximately $600 billion a year in waste and inefficiencies. In order to combat spiraling costs and poor care, consumer directed healthcare is being pushed to the forefront of the national agenda. Consumer directed healthcare puts the control of healthcare dollars directly into consumers’ hands. According to Forrester Research, consumer directed health plan enrollment will reach 12 million, or seven percent of the commercially insured market, in 2007.
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By implementing Benefitfocus consumer technology, health plans and companies empower the consumer to take control of their healthcare by offering a clear, concise and easy to understand online experience. Benefitfocus’ fully integrated and multi-lingual platform includes custom benefit configuration tools, a personal health planner, plan and cost comparison tools and wellness resources. The long term vision of the Benefitfocus consumer directed healthcare portal is that the educated healthcare consumer is best served by integrated data and management tools allowing one location in which to interact with banks, health plans, healthcare providers and business process vendors.
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Benefitfocus is planning additional international expansion in 2007 through strategic alliances and partnerships. In order to expedite expansion globally, Benefitfocus has conducted an international feasibility study that included 25 countries located on all seven continents. Countries were analyzed and ranked against a set of criteria. Benefitfocus’ top three international expansion targets are: Canada, the United Kingdom and Panama.
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About Benefitfocus
Benefitfocus.com, Inc. (Benefitfocus) is a leading provider of benefits administration software and services, offering employees and employers access to all benefits and human resource information securely over the Internet. Linking this data to payroll vendors and benefit providers, Benefitfocus applications seamlessly exchange data, therefore reducing errors and costs associated with traditional paper-based forms. Benefitfocus applications are designed to make companies more efficient, cost-effective, and more focused on delivering actual benefits instead of spending time on undue paperwork. The company is headquartered in Charleston, SC and has an established client base of over 89,000 corporate employers in all fifty states.
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