High-Five! Jellyvision's ALEX(R) Helps Adobe Reduce Tax Liability by $4.7 Million

CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - Aug 6, 2014) - Today, Jellyvision announced that software giant Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE) was able to cut its tax liability by almost $5 million -- with a huge helping hand from ALEX®, Jellyvision's virtual benefits counselor. As described in this case study, Adobe enrolled 62 percent of its almost 6,000 employees in health savings account (HSA) plans -- and both reduced its tax liability under the Affordable Care Act by a whopping $4.7 million and dramatically increased the number of high-fives administered in its HR department during enrollment season.

Although consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs), including HSAs and health reimbursement accounts (HRAs), can be big money savers for both employees and employers, getting employees to change from their "I don't wanna" mentality -- i.e., "I don't want to shift from my traditional (but more expensive) PPO plan" -- can be a challenge. Adobe, which had long planned to offer CDHPs as part of its benefits strategy, wanted to defeat the "I don't wanna" attitude and help employees see the advantages of these types of plans.

"For years we've been trying to get employees out of the PPO with cost increases -- to no avail," said Rosemary Ariada-Keiper, Senior Director of Rewards at Adobe Systems. "When I ask, 'Why would you stay in this more expensive plan?' they tell me, 'I don't want to bother with dealing with an account. I just don't want to do it.'"

To address this, Adobe adjusted the designs of its medical plans to make HSAs the most appealing option, and created a sophisticated communication plan. This included a website price transparency tool, call center and benefits videos. And while the videos could provide employees with detailed overviews of the information available in their printed benefits guides, Adobe knew they weren't capable of helping employees figure out what plan offerings would make sense for them personally.

So they turned to ALEX.

Because ALEX considers factors like an employee's location, income and family size, it can provide the kind of plan recommendations that help employees make smart decisions about their benefits options -- smart decisions like choosing more economical HSA plans over expensive PPOs, for instance.

"Video is not interactive. We use video to take the place of benefits people standing up and doing presentations," said Ariada-Keiper. "Video can get into nitty-gritty details, but it can't guide employees through a difficult decision. That's what ALEX is for."

Not only did ALEX help Adobe employees make good choices, it kept them entertained and engaged. In fact, Adobe employees absolutely loved using ALEX -- 98 percent of employees surveyed found the medical insurance module "Extremely," "Very" or "Somewhat" helpful, and 91 percent felt they had a better understanding of how their medical benefits worked after using ALEX.

Click here to read more about how Adobe helped enroll employees in HSA plans with ALEX. Click here to find out how ALEX can help you do the same!

About ALEX®
ALEX is an interactive benefits counselor who transforms jargon, legalese, and gobbledygook into personally relevant information employees can use to make smart decisions about their benefits. Today ALEX is adored by millions of employees in hundreds of companies, and when HR leaders see how he drives benefits savings, reduces employee confusion, and boosts engagement they can't help but fall in love as well. To learn more about ALEX, please visit meetalex.com.

About Jellyvision
Jellyvision helps companies explain their important (but maybe kind of complex) messages in a delightful way. We create virtual salespeople, brokers, guidance counselors, HR reps, and teachers, who have fun, personalized conversations with your customers and employees and help them understand confusing or snooze-inducing topics. For more information and examples of our work, visit jellyvision.com.

On behalf of Jellyvision:
Mark Van Hook
Email Contact
919.745.3689