Charleston, S.C. – Jan. 27, 2009 – Benefitfocus®, the largest healthcare benefits software provider in the U.S., today announced that BlueChoice HealthPlan has added Benefitfocus eDirect™ to their technology offerings which will increase their reach in the individual consumer market. As one of the original adopters of Benefitfocus eEnrollment™ and Benefitfocus eBilling™, BlueChoice® HealthPlan continues to progressively lead by providing comprehensive tools for their members. Benefitfocus eDirect brings them another level closer toward building the capability to get in front of the consumer market.

“Consumers are becoming the key to the future of healthcare,” advised Shawn Jenkins, Benefitfocus president and CEO. “There is a major shift as individual consumers become empowered to make decisions about their healthcare benefits. And with the freedom of choice, insurers are competing to reach individuals in a consumer-driven marketplace. Benefitfocus eDirect helps carriers and brokers effectively reach this target audience.”

Today, the healthcare insurance industry is experiencing a convergence of trends that, in conjunction with consumer behavior shifts related to the Internet, will cause significant re-thinking of how business is done. Similar to the dramatic shifts in the music and banking industries, health plans must move quickly to get the technology and products in place to interact with the new empowered consumer. Cybercitizen Health v2.0 Health & Pharma Insight cites that 64.5 million consumers “strongly agree” that they would like to evaluate all options available to them when making healthcare decisions.

Engaging and selling healthcare insurance to consumers is a goal of Benefitfocus’ newly designed product, eDirect. Benefitfocus eDirect includes marketing campaigns, Web traffic building and Web video, all while providing a total shopping experience for an individual or entire family.

“We chose Benefitfocus because they continue to innovatively lead the healthcare benefits technology market,” stated Tim Vaughn, BlueChoice HealthPlan CFO and vice president, underwriting. “After seeing their new consumer platform, we just knew it was the way forward for our business. With Benefitfocus eDirect we’ll get to market ahead of our competition and be able to differentiate our products by reaching consumers. We expect to increase our market share, enhance member satisfaction and ease of use, while lowering our total cost of sales and plan administration. This is a true win for all parties.”

BlueChoice HealthPlan is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Benefitfocus eDirect has a seamless Web integration with their Web site and has been branded to maintain BlueChoice HealthPlan’s look and feel. Application data from eDirect is transferred to their membership and billing systems. In addition to providing a consumer-facing Web solution, eDirect automates and integrates direct marketing, sales, underwriting and enrollment.

Benefitfocus eDirect Benefits Customers and Sales, Marketing and Underwriting Teams

eDirect Customer benefits include:

• Easy research of plans and complete transactions with a One-Thought-Per-Screen user-experience
• Advanced plan comparison tools help consumers make the right choice
• Multi-media sales assistance makes complex concepts and terms easily understood
• Users can update life event and personal information changes online

eDirect Sales benefits include:

• Simplified plan presentation reduces customer education time
• Direct data entry allows agents to write more business, in less time
• Management of more prospects with less effort
• Identify intelligent upsell opportunities that are configured to address changing needs of consumer trends

eDirect Marketing benefits include:

• Easily organized marketing campaigns
• Campaign analysis through Cost/Revenue tools
• Performance reporting allows optimization of content and delivery methods

eDirect Underwriting benefits include:

• Time-saving workflow automation tools that send applications to underwriting
• Application errors are virtually eliminated via paperless processing
• Electronic input and output of supplemental information

“We are thrilled that our eight year relationship continues to strengthen as BlueChoice HealthPlan adds additional technology product offerings to set them apart in the market,” shared Jenkins. “We designed Benefitfocus eDirect to empower individual consumers so they can feel confident in choosing the right health plan. This product provides carriers and brokers increased visibility and predictability in reaching the burgeoning consumer-focused market while controlling costs.”

For more information on Benefitfocus eDirect™ and other products, visit http://www.benefitfocus.com/products/eDirect/index.html