As Medicare Drug Coverage Begins on January 1st, NEBCO's Rolls Swell with New Clients.

WARWICK, R.I. -- Bucking National Trends, Hundreds of Companies, Thousands of Enrollees Change Their Current Drug Benefit; Retirees Flood Call Center with Questions

National Employee Benefit Companies (NEBCO) is doing the unexpected: they have enrolled over 30,000 seniors in the new Medicare Part D prescription drug plan (PDP) which becomes effective on January 1, 2006. These new customers are retirees of the more than 60 new corporate customers NEBCO has signed through its Medicare PDP solution.

This increased volume of Medicare D customers sharply contrasts with predictions that many companies would maintain the status quo, keeping their current prescription benefit and applying for the tax subsidy from the US Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). National studies, most recently a December survey of 300 companies from the Kaiser Family Foundation, have concluded that most larger employers are opting to continue offering prescription drug coverage at least as good as the Medicare benefit which qualifies them to receive the retiree drug subsidy.

NEBCO's experience has starkly conflicted with such national studies. They have seen a 125% increase in business over the previous year - largely as a result of its unique approach in providing retiree prescription drug solutions for companies.

Sam Fleet, President and CEO of NEBCO said, "I expect that in 2006 and 2007 we will see fewer and fewer companies sitting on the fence about Medicare D or taking the government subsidy. Simply put, businesses realize that there is a better way to provide prescription drug benefits to retirees by integrating the new drug benefit into their program.

An indicator of the benefit's popularity with retirees is the extremely high number of inquiries NEBCO's senior-focused Customer Care Center has received. NEBCO has averaged 2,500 calls per 12-hour day since November 1st, when the NEBCO / Sterling Life PDP was approved by CMS to market the drug plan. Calls have also gotten steadily longer, growing to an average of 46 minutes per call - twice the normal call time than an average enrollment. NEBCO expects the call volume and length to continue up to and beyond the January 1 effective date.

"The magnitude of our call center's workload is due to continued widespread confusion and concern among seniors who are making critical decisions about how to best cover their prescription drug needs," said Fleet. "Our Customer Care Representatives are the best in the business and are specially trained to field the volume and type of important calls they are receiving."

Fleet added, "as enrollees become customers on January 1st, our service specialists are trained to handle a new kind of call - customers adapting to the real world conditions of their new prescription drug coverage."

Since Medicare Part D legislation was signed into law in 2003, NEBCO has been preparing for the six month enrollment period with staff training and a custom-built, internally developed information technology system to support customer calls. NEBCO's dedicated Customer Care Center is staffed by representatives who have completed senior sensitivity training in order to best meet the needs of an older population. Additionally, retirees and their family members have access to web sites, customized by NEBCO for their former employer, to obtain information about their individual benefit plans.

As the only national PDP offered exclusively to employer groups and unions, the NEBCO / Sterling plan provides fully integrated solutions to companies seeking to enroll retirees in Medicare D and a supplemental policy that addresses the coverage gap in the base Medicare D plan. With this integrated coverage in place, all costs are adjudicated at the point of sale, freeing members from the process of filing for reimbursement of prescription drug costs.

National Employee Benefit Companies, Inc. (NEBCO), based in Warwick, RI, is one of the leading wholesale brokerage firms and third-party administrators in the employee and retiree benefit industry. Founded in 1991, NEBCO assists companies and organizations of all sizes and across many industries in designing insurance programs and solution-oriented member benefits. The company also carries the prestigious endorsement of the American Hospital Association for administration of retiree medical benefits. Its parent company, American Wholesale Insurance Group (AmWINS), is the second largest insurance wholesaler in the country. Sam Fleet, NEBCO's President and CEO, is a recognized expert on the new Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit (Part D of the Medicare Modernization Act). For information about NEBCO, visit the website at www.nebenefit.com.