HARVARD PILGRIM LAUNCHES ONLINE RENEWAL TOOL.

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care has launched a free, online service that allows insurance brokers to obtain rates and renew Harvard Pilgrim's small-group accounts at their convenience. Easy Online Renewal, which is a secure, password-protected feature of Harvard Pilgrim's Website, is the first service of its kind in Massachusetts.

"Harvard Pilgrim is committed to being the most broker-friendly plan in this region," said Vincent Capozzi, Harvard Pilgrim's senior vice president of sales and marketing. "The latest enhancement to our online services will greatly improve the broker renewal process and make their jobs easier."

Easy Online Renewal is the latest edition to Harvard Pilgrim's "Broker Red Carpet" program, which includes timesaving online tools that eliminate unnecessary paperwork. Easy Online Renewal is a faster, more efficient way for brokers to quote Massachusetts small-group accounts, look up product summaries, change benefit options, accept rates electronically and email or fax renewal rates. The user-friendly tool can be easily accessed from Harvard Pilgrim's new broker section at http://www.harvardpilgrim.org/brokers.

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care is a not-for-profit health plan with more than 800,000 members in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. It has a network of more than 22,000 providers and 130 hospitals. Harvard Pilgrim is the only health plan in the country to be rated among the top ten for both member satisfaction and clinical effectiveness according to a report released by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Harvard Pilgrim began offering online transaction tools in 2000 that are now used by thousands of employers, providers and members.

Harvard Pilgrim can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.harvardpilgrim.org/.

For more information, call 617/509-7458.