Healthline News

Nov 13, 2007
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Healthline Helps Seniors Navigate Medicare Part D

New Plan Selector Tool and Expert Medical Content Enables Millions of Medicare Participants to Find a Less Expensive Prescription Drug Plan

SAN FRANCISCO—Nov 13, 2007—Healthline Networks (www.healthline.com), the leading provider of intelligent health information services, today announced comprehensive new content and search capabilities to help Medicare beneficiaries and their caregivers research and apply for a new Medicare prescription drug plan. The search tool, called the Part D Plan Selector, and accompanying Medicare-related expert content will be available on Healthline.com during Medicare Part D's open enrollment period, November 15th - December 31st 2007.

"The Medicare Part D enrollment process is more complicated than the tax code, with the average senior expected to choose from as many as 50 different plans and myriad qualifying criteria," said West Shell III, Chairman and CEO of Healthline Networks. "Healthline.com's Medicare-related suite of products simplifies this process by giving users the most important information they need to make a decision, based on the cost of their prescription drugs."

Powered by DestinationRx, Healthline.com's Part D Plan Selector allows a user to enter what drugs the participant is taking and the participant's zip code to get a side-by-side comparison of health plans that will cover them, the plan's total annual cost, drugs covered, and details about "gap" coverage. If a user decides to apply to a lower-cost plan, the tool also enables consumers to submit an application electronically, utilizing the same trusted technology as the US government.

In addition to the Part D Plan Selector, Healthline has added original content to help seniors and their caregivers make a more informed decision about choosing a Part D plan, including information about the "donut hole," understanding the Part D formularies, and case studies of actual Medicare enrollees and their prescription drug plans. Healthline's Medicare-related content was developed by Healthline's on-staff medical professionals who thoroughly researched and addressed the challenges in Part D enrollment for seniors and their caregivers. The result is that seniors can go to Healthline.com to research and choose a plan more quickly and easily than anywhere else.

"When we researched the other products on the market, we knew we had to simplify and expedite this process for seniors and their caregivers," explained George Krucik MD, senior product manager for Healthline.com. "Healthline's Medicare-related suite of products combines our technological expertise and experience to create an easy-to-use search tool, with the expert medical content Healthline is known for, to help consumers make the right healthcare decision."

About Medicare Part D

-- Medicare Part D provides seniors (age 65 or older) with prescription drug coverage. -- Participants can only change their Part D plan during the open enrollment period, from November 15th through December 31st 2007 for 2008 plans. -- On average, seniors who don't compare and switch plans will receive a 21% increase in premiums.(1) -- As of January 2007, 23.9 million beneficiaries are enrolled in Medicare Part D plans.(2)

To use the tool, visit Healthline at www.healthline.com.

About Healthline

Healthline Networks offers an innovative approach to meeting the needs of today's health information seeker. The company's unique consumer healthcare taxonomy, begun in 1999 in collaboration with 1,100 medical specialists, powers a suite of intelligent health search, navigation and content services. Combining advanced search technology with deep medical expertise, Healthline and its business partners a network of trusted destination sites that include publishers, portals, search engines, employers and health plans help consumers navigate the complex world of healthcare information, empowering them to make more confident, informed decisions. Headquartered in San Francisco, Healthline is backed by VantagePoint Venture Partners, Reed Elsevier Ventures, Mitsui & Co., Ltd., and JHK Investments, LLC.

Company information:
Bill McGee
Senior Vice President, Marketing Services
415-281-3113
bill@healthline.com

Press Contact:
Colby Zintl
Healthline Networks
415-281-3110

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