RIVERWOODS, Ill (December 12,
2005) Discover Financial Services LLC, a business
unit of Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MWD), today announced
that it has partnered with Exante Financial Services
and its affiliate Exante Bank, business units
of UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (NYSE: UNH), to issue
the Exante financial health account cards on the
Discover
® Network.
The companies
are piloting a program that will provide certain
Morgan Stanley employees with a debit card that
can be used on the Discover Network to pay for
eligible health care and dependent care expenses
from their Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs).
Building on this program, which will begin in
2006, both Discover and Exante anticipate expanding
card access to the Discover Network to a broader
group of consumers and across multiple types of
accounts.
Exante's financial health account
card works like any debit or stored value card
currently used on the Discover Network. Consumers
enrolled in the pilot program will swipe their
cards at participating merchant and provider locations
that accept Discover Network cards to pay for
eligible health care services, prescriptions,
medical equipment and child care.
“We
are pleased to partner with Exante to help deploy
electronic and card-based payment solutions that
will simplify the financing and payment of health
care and support the growth of health care savings
programs,” said Roger Hochschild, president and
chief operating officer, Discover Financial Services
LLC.
About Discover Financial
Services LLC Discover Financial Services
LLC, a business unit of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MWD),
operates the Discover
® Card with more
than 50 million Cardmembers, the Discover Network
with more than 4 million merchant and cash access
locations and the PULSE
® ATM/debit
network currently service over 4,100 banks, credit
unions and savings institutions. For more information,
visit
www.discovercard.com,
www.discovernetwork.com
or
www.pulse-eft.com.
About Exante Financial Services
Exante Financial Services, in conjunction
with its affiliate Exante Bank, Inc. (jointly
referred to as “Exante”) is focused on enhancing
and serving the health care financial needs of
insurers, benefits administrators, consumers and
health care professionals. Exante offers Health
Savings Accounts, card technology and a host of
electronic solutions. Exante Bank, Inc., member
FDIC, is a Utah-state chartered industrial bank
located in Salt Lake City, chartered in July 2003
by UnitedHealth Group. Exante provides comprehensive
consumer health financial services capabilities
to 16 independent health administrators in addition
to UnitedHealth Group and its operating businesses.
Together, these clients represent over 700,000
accounts managed by Exante.
CONTACTS:
Cindy Ballard
Discover Financial Services
LLC
(832) 214-0104
cballard@pulse-eft.com
Mark Lindsay
UnitedHealth Group
(952)
992-4297
mark_f_lindsay@uhc.com