Connecture Acquires DRX, A Leading Provider of Information Systems for Medicare

BROOKFIELD, Wis., Jan. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Connecture, Inc., the leader in sales automation technology for the health insurance industry, today announced it acquired DRX (formerly known as DestinationRx), a provider of Web-based shopping and enrollment systems for consumers of Medicare health plans, as well as those used to compare name brand pharmaceuticals with therapeutic alternatives. DRX powers the Medicare.gov PlanFinder and Online Enrollment Center and serves many of the nation's largest health plans, pharmacy benefit managers, brokers and senior advocacy groups. The company is based in Los Angeles.

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"This acquisition brings together the people and skills required to create an integrated distribution platform for health plans that is able to simultaneously address the needs of the commercial insurance and government health plan marketplaces, for the first time," said Doug Schneider, CEO of Connecture.  "Both companies share a commitment to make it less expensive to compare plans and enroll in the right one. Now that expertise can be combined to help even more Americans, whether it's to compare plans offered by many payers in a private exchange, consider similar products on a carrier's website, shop for the best plan in a state exchange, or select the right Medicare plan and pharmaceuticals."

The acquisition builds on a natural synergy between the two companies.  Connecture is a leader in the commercial insurance market for individual and small group plans, as well as private exchanges, and is one of the first companies to create the shopping and enrollment systems for state and federal partnership exchanges. DRX is a leader in the federal arena and Medicare, the comparison of therapeutic pharmaceuticals, and in multi-payer private exchanges used by large groups.

"Two undeniable trends attracted us to DRX," said Brett Carlson, board member at Connecture and vice president at Great Point Partners. "We've been watching the acceleration of senior enrollment into managed care and the increasing utilization of competitive marketplaces for insurance purchasing in the private sector. DRX strengthens our technological capability and value proposition for our clients in both of these key strategic areas."

Each company's information systems enjoy widespread use. More than 25 million Americans have shopped for their health insurance online using systems created by Connecture.  And today more than half of the nation's 20 largest health plans, and nearly 50 percent of all Blue Cross & Blue Shield plans, rely on the company's information systems to effectively sell their products.  Connecture is also supplying the core shopping and enrollment functions for the state exchanges being built in Maryland and Minnesota to meet the requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. 

DRX is the leading provider of Medicare plan comparison and enrollment solutions, having processed more than 12 million Medicare applications to date and providing solutions to seven of the top ten Medicare Plan Sponsors.  DRX is also the leading provider of drug comparison tools; helping the members of five of the top ten pharmacy benefit managers better utilize their drug benefits.

Some of the DRX many offerings include:

• PlanCompare: Offered via fully hosted websites, or easily integrated with existing ones, PlanCompare is used by a high percentage of Medicare sponsor websites, as well as Medicare.gov, and is the most widely used decision support tool for comparing and enrolling in Medicare plans. Three out of every four people who enroll in a Medicare Part D plan use DRX's PlanCompare.
• DrugCompare: DrugCompare enables payers, pharamacies, and consumers to find therapeutical alternatives for prescription drugs that lower costs – armed with the most comprehensive data available. Powerful analytics enable clients to find the right therapies at the right price, while end users are able to easily compare their option based not only on cost, but also with detailed information on side effects, efficacy and other factors. 

Some of Connecture's many offerings include:

• StateAdvantage: is a modular commercial-off-the-shelf suite of solutions that includes everything needed to make a state exchange that enables citizens for shop for, and enroll in, the right health plan with ease. Connecture also offers a plan module that can be used by states that wish to participate in a federal partnership exchange. All of Connecture's solutions easily integrate with existing systems, including those used by health plans, call centers, federal systems and others.
• InsureAdvantage: A proven solution that enables carriers to help employers lower the costs they incur administering health benefits while simultaneously providing their employees with more plans to choose from, InsureAdvantage includes features such as physician's lookup and cost calculators that make the shopping and enrollment process for health insurance intuitive for consumers.

President of Connecture and co-founder Dan Maynard will serve as general manager of DRX. Randy Herman, CEO and president of DRX, is leaving the company to pursue other interests. 

"This acquisition will benefit both companies and it's with great pleasure that we welcome DRX's employees to the Connecture family, even as we wish Randy the best of luck in his next venture and applaud the leadership he provided that clearly was instrumental in making DRX the undisputed frontrunner in its field," said Maynard. "Healthcare is changing and together, all of us at DRX and Connecture, have an amazing opportunity to make a positive impact, not only for our customers, but also the Americans they serve."

About Connecture
Connecture is the leading provider of Web-based information systems used to create health insurance marketplaces and exchanges. Its industry-proven solutions enable consumers, employers and brokers to more easily shop for, purchase and renew health insurance while minimizing back-office administrative expenses for health plans.  Connecture's solutions are provided to health plans, state insurance exchanges, private exchanges and insurance brokers.  More than 25 million Americans shop for their health insurance through systems built by Connecture, and more than half of the nation's 20 largest plans rely on them to sell, administer and manage their plans and products effectively.  For more information, visit www.connecture.com.

Media Contact:
Ken Phillips
Davies Murphy Group, Inc.
Ph. +1.781.418.2437
[email protected]

SOURCE Connecture, Inc.