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Benemax to Educate, Present Insights on Consumer-Directed Health Plans to European Audience at Prestigious Benefits Conference

MEDFIELD, Mass.—May 4, 2004—David Cowles, Executive Vice President and co-founder of
benefits management firm Benemax, will address the prestigious Insurope Symposium in Stockholm,
May 24-27. Held every two years by Insurope, the multinational benefits association headquartered in
Belgium, the gathering explores global benefits issues that most concern its international clientele.

For the first time, the U.S. phenomenon of consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) is on the program, and Cowles, a pioneer and longstanding proponent of these plans, will educate the multinational audience and share his insights on this health benefit revolution that is sweeping the U.S.

“We are seeing that CDHPs have repercussions outside the U.S., and employee benefits decision-makers need to understand their applications,” said Hugh Gallagher, Network Marketing Director for Insurope.

Cowles notes that European companies with U.S. operations are also eager to learn about CDHPs as they seek the most cost-effective health insurance for their U.S. employees.

CDHPs are attractive because they give employees control over their health care decisions and a financial stake in the economic consequences. They eliminate managed care “gatekeepers” and
provide each employee with a benefit bank, called a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA). With
an HRA, funds not used to pay for healthcare in one year are rolled over to the next year. Healthy employees who consume healthcare wisely accumulate funds and see their bank balances grow. This creates a strong incentive for employees to be health conscious, seek preventive care and become proactive healthcare consumers.

“David Cowles is a foremost authority on the CDHP model and how it can curb healthcare inflation,” Gallagher said. “We look forward to his important contribution to our symposium, which will include participants from many major European and U.S. multinational companies.”

“The Insurope Symposium is an outstanding venue that draws some of the most innovative, thoughtful benefits executives from around the world to meet and exchange ideas,” said Cowles. “I’m honored to participate.”


About Insurope
The Insurope Network, (www.insurope.com) based in Brussels, was established in 1966 as an association of independent employee benefit insurance companies to provide services to multinational firms. Today it operates in more than 60 countries, with offices in the UK, US, Singapore and Finland. Insurope’s practice focuses on multinational pooling, a concept which links insured employee benefit plans worldwide for multinational companies to reduce overhead costs. Insurope has over 400 multinational accounts in force, covering some 5,000 local country plans.

About Benemax
Benemax, based in Medfield, Mass. (www.benemax.com), was founded in 1975 and manages employee benefits for 250 corporate clients ranging from start-ups to divisions of Fortune 500 companies. Benemax designs and administers attractive yet highly cost-effective employee benefit packages, including consumer-directed health and dental plans. The company has grown by an average of 30 percent annually for the past four years.




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