ExtendHealth

ExtendHealth was a pioneering private Medicare insurance exchange and retiree health benefits marketplace founded in 2004 and headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. The company developed and operated the largest private Medicare exchange in the United States, offering a defined contribution health care model that allowed employers to provide a fixed financial contribution toward their retirees' individual health insurance plans rather than administering a group plan. Through its exchange platform, Medicare-eligible retirees could shop, compare, and enroll in Medicare Advantage, Medigap, and Part D prescription drug plans with personalized guidance from licensed benefits advisers. This approach gave retirees greater plan choice and flexibility while helping employers reduce the financial risk and administrative complexity of managing retiree health benefits. In May 2012, Towers Watson acquired ExtendHealth for an undisclosed sum, integrating it into a new Exchange Solutions business segment led by ExtendHealth co-founder and CEO Bryce Williams, with more than 300 employees at the time of acquisition. The platform was subsequently rebranded as OneExchange and later as Via Benefits, which today operates as a business unit of WTW (Willis Towers Watson) providing individual health marketplace services to employers and retirees nationwide.