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HMO agrees to try Web�s flex benefits Employees would make decisions on coverage Local and wire reports PORTLAND � In a change from traditional health care plans, Oregon�s largest health insurer and a Web-based company will give employees, rather than their employers, the power to decide how their health care dollars are spent. Workers in Southern Oregon may be offered the same flexibility next year, company officials say. Under the arrangement between the Portland-based Myhealthbank and Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, participating employers will deposit employee health benefits in cash in each employee�s "personal health bank account." Each employee is then free to buy different levels of Blue Cross coverage to match his or her particular needs. The leftover money can be used to buy other health benefits, ranging from alternative medicines to ergonomic chairs. The arrangement is different from the traditional system of employer-supplied health insurance in which the employer selects and limits the benefits that are covered. "We�re going to lead the way for the consumer to take control of the health care economy," declared Dr. David Sanders, president and founder of Myhealthbank. "It is an industry-transforming deal." Donald P. Sacco, president and chief executive officer of Regence BlueCross BlueShield, which insures one of every three Oregonians, said the insurer was "entering new territory that may lead to a fundamental change in the way employees and employers approach their health benefits package." The Myhealthbank system will initially start in Bend and Eugene. The company�s sales force is working to sign up employers in those markets in time for Blue Cross� Oct. 1 enrollment date. The new service could be offered in Southern Oregon as early as Jan. 1, said Regence spokesman Ken Strobeck. Strobeck said employers like the idea because it frees them from choosing employees� benefit packages. It�s not clear if any other insurers plan to follow suit. Participating employees will be assigned an account that will allow them to see how much money is in their accounts and how much different levels of coverage cost. Eventually, participating doctors, hospitals and pharmacies will post price lists for services and products, allowing consumers to comparison shop. If dollars are left over, the consumer is free to spend them on any eligible health expenses sanctioned by the Internal Revenue Service, a long list that includes acupuncture, eyeglasses, orthodontics and spa equipment prescribed by a physician. Participating health care providers in Bend and Eugene will get payment through Myhealthbank�s debit card system, which eliminates claims filing. Instead, cash is transferred from the consumer�s Myhealthbank account to the provider�s bank account. Myhealthbank, which received $3 million in venture capital financing in May, intends to expand the concept nationwide. Its revenue will come from administrative fees, transaction fees and e-commerce commissions. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA