Medtronic offers new healthcare benefit to employees

Medical technology company Medtronic Inc. is offering approximately 9,000 employees a new consumer-driven healthcare plan from Definity Health as a benefit option to supplement its current offerings.

According to Minneapolis-based Medtronic, the new health benefit option, introduced during the annual enrollment for January 2001, will provide its employees with more financial control over how their health and wellness needs are met, while also emphasizing preventive care and the increased sharing of healthcare information.

The Definity Health benefit consists of three components:

• Personal Care Account (PCA), to cover the costs of health and wellness needs throughout the year. Participants can use the balance in their accounts to cover costs associated with the care their physicians recommend. For example, if a patient covered by Definity Health wants to participate in a smoking cessation program, he or she can elect to use the PCA balance to cover the cost of both the program and the prescriptions required. In many instances, traditional health plans only cover the prescription costs.
  
• Health Coverage, to complement the PCA and provide the benefit participant with a safety net to cover a patient's annual costs or if there is a serious illness. Also, in order to emphasize preventive care, the plan pays for 100 percent of the costs associated with this type of care.
  
• Personal Health Advocate, a set of Internet tools and information to support health and wellness decisions. Participants will have the ability to create a secure Web page that will enable them to view their health history, learn about new doctors and research medications, among other options.

"Medtronic is pleased to offer our employees a benefit option that will allow them to more proactively manage their own healthcare through an approach that is consumer-driven and supported by Web-enabled technology," said David Ness, vice president of compensation and benefits at Medtronic.

Some 9,000 of Medtronic's U.S. employees, including those who reside in Minnesota, those who work at its Santa Rosa, Calif. facilities and the company's national field sales force, will initially be eligible to select the Definity Health benefit, according to Ness. Definity Health is also based in Minneapolis.

Edited by Steve Tarnoff
Managing Editor, HRHub.com
Starnoff@vertical.net