Companies Offer Nation's First Credit Line to Owners of Health Savings Accounts; MedDirect Health Benefits, 1Point Solutions Team Up To Overcome Top Employer Objections to HSAs.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- It is now easier than ever for companies to offer - and for employees to benefit from - HSAs, thanks to a new suite of products and services offered by two strategic partners.

MedDirect Health Benefits, a leading provider of financing to patients seeking affordable ways to pay for healthcare procedures, today announced a strategic partnership with 1Point Solutions, a third party administrator in Dickson, Tennessee.

This partnership will allow MedDirect to offer its leading-edge "MedDirect HSA Plus" savings package to employees with HSAs in Tennessee, Missouri and Louisiana. MedDirect already provides this innovative suite of services, including the Bridge Line of credit (patent pending) and "smart" Bridge Card, with 1Point Solutions in Michigan and Wisconsin.

"MedDirect HSA Plus" offers a full range of other services necessary to administer HSAs. Central to "MedDirect HSA Plus" is a savings account established with Bancorp Bank that offers superior interest rates, mutual funds and FDIC/SIPC protection, as well as overdraft protection offered through the MedDirect Bridge Line. This overdraft protection is an employer-sponsored benefit, and is available to all employees regardless of their creditworthiness.

The partnership with 1Point Solutions helps to enhance a key element of "MedDirect HSA Plus" - the Bridge Card, a smart debit MasterCard that can be used at the point-of-sale by subscribers for all HSA-eligible expenses.

Other elements of "MedDirect HSA Plus" include:

--Enrollment Assistance

--Contribution Processing

--Claims Substantiation

--Customer Service

--Compliance Review

This wide array of services makes "MedDirect HSA Plus" the most complete HSA savings program available anywhere. It is compatible with any HSA-qualified high deductible health insurance plan.

The MedDirect Bridge Line overcomes two of the major employer objections to offering HSA-qualified health insurance plans. First, it gives employees readily available funds to pay for services, even on the first day of their HSA participation, without the employee (or employer) having to make a large lump-sum deposit. Second, it overcomes the concern that employer contributions to an employee's HSA are 100% vested, and become a sunk cost if the employee leaves. With the MedDirect Bridge Line, if an employee terminates, he or she is primarily responsible for paying back the line of credit.

"The partnership with 1Point Solutions is significant for employers in these states, as health care costs continue to rise," said Carl Jasperse, Vice President for MedDirect Health Benefits. "We are excited to provide our solutions to more people, so that they can enjoy the benefits of one of the most innovative ideas introduced in health care in a long time."

MedDirect Health Benefits funds the MedDirect Bridge Line and, with 1Point Solutions, manages the MedDirect HSA Plus features. This reduces employer administrative costs currently associated with HSAs and increases employee satisfaction. The company's experience and existing infrastructure allow it to handle enrollment, claims and contribution processing, online account information for employees, and customer service.

With this partnership, MedDirect and 1Point Solutions can foster even more rapid growth in the market for HSAs, and ultimately, help cultivate a different type of health care culture - one in which employees are turned into smarter consumers of health care, unnecessary procedures are less likely to take place, and legacy and other benefit costs that impact businesses can be better controlled.

"In January of 2004, we became the first in the country to offer HSAs and aggressively present them to employers," said Barry Stokes, CEO of 1Point Solutions. "When MedDirect approached us about a line of credit that was tied to HSAs, we found a missing link of sorts. We like to work with early adopters, businesses who are not afraid to use progressive, yet proven means of simplifying health care insurance. Our partnership with MedDirect allows us to build on our leadership position with forward-thinking companies."

Companies can begin offering HSA Plus on July 1.

Founded in 2005, MedDirect Health Benefits offers financing to patients seeking a more affordable way to pay for elective healthcare and dental procedures. MedDirect currently works with a wide array of health care providers, and provides patients with a variety of payment options, including interest-free and low interest plans that help facilitate treatment.

1Point Solutions is the premier medical spending administrator and provider of retirement and employee benefit programs in the nation. As a developer and early adopter of advanced technologies, 1Point offers a comprehensive suite of design and management services to both employers and employees.