Financial services company Fidelity Investments is introducing a private online health exchange for businesses to shop for health insurance and other employee benefits, reports Bloomberg.
The online exchange, called Fidelity Health Marketplace, is geared toward businesses with up to 2,500 employees. Though separate from the online exchanges established by the federal government through the Affordable Care Act, those using Fidelity Health Marketplace will be able to compare health plans and shop around for options, much like individuals do on the federal marketplace.
Fidelity joins a handful of other firms operating private exchanges, including Automatic Data Processing, Willis Towers Watson and Aon PLC; however, use of private exchanges has been slower than anticipated, according to the report. Approximately 8 million workers selected health coverage for themselves and their families on private exchanges for 2016, which is approximately 4 million fewer than Accenture had predicted, according to the report.
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