Transactions

DirectPath and Flores & Associates Merge

Offering Concierge-Quality Health Care Transparency with Tax-Advantaged CDHPs

DirectPath, the industry leader in personalized benefits education, health care transparency and compliance, today announced that it has merged with Flores & Associates, a leading national administrator of tax-advantaged consumer directed health plans (CDHPs) and COBRA/retiree billing administration. Michael Byers, currently CEO of DirectPath, will assume the role of CEO of the combined company and remain based in Burlington, Mass. Mario Flores will continue in his role as President of Flores & Associates and remain based in Charlotte, N.C.

Through this merger, DirectPath will emerge as one of the largest CDHP third-party administrators in the country offering integrated, concierge-quality health care transparency, tax-advantaged CDHPs and COBRA/retiree billing administration to employers.

With employer health costs more than doubling between 2001 and 2015, employers require guidance boosting enrollment in employer-sponsored plans and achieving increased return on their health care investments. By combining Flores’ proven track record and stellar reputation in designing integrated account offerings for employers with DirectPath’s personalized approach to employee benefits education and transparency, the new venture will empower clients to successfully migrate their employees into CDHPs, flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and health savings accounts (HSAs).

“This combination is a natural evolution of our partnership with Flores – a partnership that very quickly revealed the value of our complementary services and capabilities,” said Byers. “To deliver on our commitment to give brokers and their employer clients the tools needed to effectively manage health benefits costs, education and compliance, DirectPath is constantly evaluating opportunities to enhance our offerings. By fusing our strengths with those of Flores, we are ideally positioned as the trusted benefits partner for employers and their brokers.”

“We are thrilled to unite with the DirectPath team and bring our services and benefits expertise to the company,” said Flores. “As active partners, we know the strength of our combined services, and look forward to providing employers and brokers with end-to-end solutions for optimizing CDHP and FSA migration. As one company with one mission, we will set employers on the path to improved health care literacy for their employees and greater health care benefits savings.”

In conjunction with the DirectPath brand, Flores will continue to work with its existing clientele while augmenting DirectPath’s suite of education, transparency and compliance services. Century Equity Partners L.P., a Boston-based private equity firm that is also an investor in both organizations, will become the majority investor of the new venture.

Davis Fulkerson, managing director at Century Equity Partners, said, “At Century, we like to say that we thrive on solving the unsolvable. It’s no secret that for many businesses and their employees, effectively managing health care benefits seems impossible. The DirectPath and Flores combination changes this by offering its employer clients highly customized, end-to-end support when it comes to developing benefits strategies that deliver impressive ROI and unparalleled satisfaction from their employees. We see a real opportunity here to bring much-needed transparency to the complex health care market.”