Health SolutionsPlus Named Winner in Sixth Annual Paybefore Awards

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Evolution1™, the nation’s largest electronic payment, on-premise and cloud computing healthcare solution that administers reimbursement accounts, including HSAs, HRAs, FSAs, VEBAs, Wellness and Transit Plans, announced today that Paybefore has chosen Health SolutionsPlus as a 2012 Paybefore Awards winner in the Best Health Care/Health Benefits Prepaid Program category.

“Not only has Health SolutionsPlus delivered an enhanced experience for plan members, it has also enabled us to launch cost-containment product options that can help plan sponsors implement cost-saving plan changes while maintaining plan member satisfaction.”

Health SolutionsPlus, launched in March 2011 by The Great-West Life Assurance Company, a leading Canadian group benefits provider, in conjunction with Visa^® Canada and Evolution1 uses a Visa-branded employee benefits payment card. Using the card reduces the need for Great-West Life group benefits plan members to pay out-of-pocket for health services and supplies covered by their healthcare spending account (HCSA). Powered by the innovative card technology of Evolution1, the Health SolutionsPlus Visa payment card allows cardholders to conveniently purchase covered health services and supplies from authorized providers simply by swiping their card.

“We’re delighted with this recognition and with the performance of Health SolutionsPlus,” said Brad Fedorchuk, vice president of group marketing at Great-West Life. “Not only has Health SolutionsPlus delivered an enhanced experience for plan members, it has also enabled us to launch cost-containment product options that can help plan sponsors implement cost-saving plan changes while maintaining plan member satisfaction.”

“Evolution1 deserves a tremendous amount of credit for us winning this award,” Fedorchuk continued. “The user experience and technology platform provided by Evolution1 are second to none.”

“We’re honored to play a part in the recognition of Health SolutionsPlus,” said Jeff Young, chairman and CEO of Evolution1. “In the ever-changing landscape of consumer healthcare, our commitment has remained steadfast: to reduce costs and simplify the business of healthcare. Health SolutionsPlus does just that, and Great-West Life is to be commended for their innovation and leadership as related to HCSAs.”

The Paybefore Awards, now in their sixth year, are the most prestigious recognition of excellence in the worldwide prepaid and stored value card industry. The awards are presented annually by Paybefore, whose publications are the leading source of industry information for the global prepaid community. Health SolutionsPlus was selected by a panel of five industry experts who served as judges for this year’s competition, which – once again – included entries from around the world.

“Paybefore Awards were created to honor the companies and individuals that are keeping prepaid on the cutting edge of payments,” said Loraine DeBonis, Paybefore editor-in-chief and chair of the judging panel. “Our industry continues to break new ground and expand the reach of electronic payments because of companies like Great-West Life, Visa and Evolution1 that make innovation and execution a priority,” she continued. “We are proud to recognize their contributions to advancing the prepaid industry.”

“Prepaid is the fastest-growing area of payments because it addresses unmet payment needs of consumers, businesses and governments,” added Marilyn Bochicchio, Paybefore’s CEO. “Paybefore Awards recognizes the creativity of prepaid practitioners in developing programs that address these needs more effectively than cash, checks or even other types of payment cards.”

Health SolutionsPlus now will vie for best-in-category distinction, which will be announced during the Paybefore Awards ceremony on March 12 at the Prepaid Expo USA (www.prepaidexpousa.com).

About Evolution1
Evolution1 and our Partners serve more than 7 million consumers, making us the nation’s largest electronic payment, on-premise and cloud computing healthcare solution that administers reimbursement accounts, including HSAs, HRAs, FSAs, VEBAs, Wellness and Transit Plans. It is the only solution that offers a single end-to-end user experience, provides innovative auto-substantiation technologies, and automates workflow for Partners, employers, and consumers. It does all this on one technology platform comprised of Lighthouse1™, PayDirect®, the Benny® Benefits Debit Card, Lighthouse1 OneCard™ and integrated web portals. Evolution1 and our Partners are dedicated to delivering value, reducing costs and simplifying the business of healthcare. For more information, visit www.evolution1.com.

About The Great-West Life Assurance Company
Founded in Winnipeg in 1891, Great-West Life has long been a leader in the group benefits marketplace. The company has established this position over many decades, through its commitment to quality customer services and through a comprehensive selection of cost-effective benefits plans. Great-West Life offers effective benefit solutions for employee groups of any size. The company serves the needs of more than 32,000 plan sponsors and their plan members in Canada and handles approximately 50 million group health and dental claims for its plan members and their dependents each year.

About Visa
Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world's most advanced processing networks-VisaNet-that is capable of handling more than 20,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.

About Paybefore
Paybefore is the leading information provider to prepaid and stored value industry professionals, offering the latest news, commentary and analysis. Paybefore’s family of industry publications include: Paybefore.com™, a searchable online news and information portal; Paybefore News™, daily news briefs delivered electronically; Paybefore News International™, a weekly compilation of prepaid news and events from outside the United States; Paybefore Update™, an e-newsletter delivered 20 times a year; Paybefore Legal™, a downloadable e-newsletter covering the legislative, regulatory and judicial developments in prepaid, as well as feature articles by leading attorneys in the field; Paybefore Magazine™, a biannual print publication featuring in-depth articles on the opportunities, challenges and trends in the global prepaid and stored value industry; and the only industry directory, Paybefore Buyer’s Guide™, available online and in print. Visit us at www.paybefore.com.

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