NerdWallet Announces Health Navigators as Open Enrollment Season Approaches

PR Newswire

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Today NerdWallet announced the availability of Health Navigators, a concierge service enabling working Americans to maximize their health care benefits. Personalized for individual companies, Health Navigators combines an innovative health insurance selection tool, pertinent content and dedicated medical billing experts.

"Health care-related costs are one of the biggest personal finance challenges facing Americans today. People are confused by their insurance options and are often blindsided by surprise costs," said NerdWallet founder and CEO Tim Chen. "Partnering with employers helps NerdWallet fulfill our promise of delivering financial clarity to all consumers."

At the heart of the offering is the new health insurance recommendation tool. NerdWallet personalizes the Web-based application for each individual company, populating the tool with the company's specific health insurance options. Then, by answering a few simple questions, employees can find targeted suggestions for choosing the best health insurance plan for their unique situation in less than five minutes. Now, employees have a guided experience that helps them navigate health insurance selection during both onboarding and open enrollment.

NerdWallet's new health insurance recommendation tool allows employees to estimate annual health costs

Health Navigators' support doesn't end with health benefits selection. Employees have access to curated informational content based on their medical and financial concerns. They can also leverage a dedicated, on-demand billing expert to help them understand medical bills and find opportunities to save money.

"The American health system has grown increasingly complex, making it difficult for HR departments to help employees understand and select health care benefits," said Christina LaMontagne, General Manager of Health at NerdWallet. "In initial pilots with six companies, 91% of employees ranked the service very good to excellent. Given this market validation, we are thrilled to expand the availability of Health Navigators nationally."

HR leaders at these pilot companies say the Health Navigators service has saved them valuable time so that they can focus resources on other strategic initiatives. They also note that employees are more engaged with their benefit packages.

"I knew that when we enlisted NerdWallet to assist with understanding health care plans within my organization, they would be helpful. However, I have learned they are innovative, dedicated and passionate about what they do. Our Health Navigator has received so much praise from our staff, who have said she saved them time and money," said Margaret Fitzgerald, Benefits Manager at Homestead Funding Corp.

To learn more about the Health Navigators service or demo its new health insurance selection tool, please visit http://health.nerdwallet.com/open-enrollment/.

The Challenge of Health Benefits in the Workplace

About NerdWallet
NerdWallet gives consumers clarity around key financial decisions at every stage of their lives. When it comes to credit cards, insurance, loans or expenses such as hospital costs, consumers make almost all of their decisions in the dark. NerdWallet is changing that, helping guide consumers' decisions with free, accessible tools, research and expert advice that can't be found anywhere else. We call it putting knowledge in your wallet.

About NerdWallet Health
NerdWallet Health empowers consumers to lead healthier lives by simplifying the financial experience of health care. We are doing this by helping consumers understand how their health insurance works, maximizing their benefits and reducing costs with our expert network of medical billing advocates.

Press Contacts
Kathryne MezzanotteCommunications Analyst, NerdWallet
[email protected]
(610) 585.8925