Ford Motor Company Chooses Optate's Online BENEFITcompanion

    ANN ARBOR, Mich., May 22 More than 50,000 Ford Motor
Company salaried active employees and retirees across the country can now
access their health care and benefit information online with BENEFITcompanion,
an innovative e-benefits portal from Optate, an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based
company.
    Optate's best-of-breed solution enables Ford employees and retirees to
make informed choices about their benefits and health care options.  Ford
employees can use BENEFITcompanion to research benefit information and create
tailored comparison charts, based upon each employee's preferences, by benefit
plans, find enrollment content, locate doctors and obtain valuable health and
wellness information.
    Working closely with Ford Healthcare Management officials, the Optate team
customized BENEFITcompanion with specialized information on the auto giant's
plan descriptions, options, frequently asked questions and other materials.
    "Many vendors supply only one or two pieces of the benefits puzzle.  We
provide all the right pieces to search out the best benefit solutions, combine
them in an easy-to-use e-benefits portal and tailor the service to meet the
individual needs of each company," said David Vinson, founder and CEO of
Optate.
    "The Optate solution gives our employees a personalized benefits program
that they can easily access and customize," said Denise Clement, M.D., of Ford
Healthcare Management.
    Studies show that e-benefits are a growing trend for employers, who are
expected to spend more than $38 billion on online health benefit programs by
2003.  Optate's BENEFITcompanion allows employees to administer their own
health care choices in a secure environment, while also reducing health care
administration costs for companies.
    "Millions of people already use the Internet to find health care
information," said Vinson.  "We empower them to use the Internet in a way that
makes choosing health care options a productive experience."

    About Optate, Inc.
    Founded in 1999, Optate (http://www.optate.com ) provides online employee
benefits solutions to large and medium-sized companies.  Optate
BENEFITcompanion(TM) helps companies save money and build employee
satisfaction by enabling users to easily access their benefits and obtain
health care information.
    Optate is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Its name is taken from the Latin
root optare, which means "to choose."

    About Ford Motor Company
    Ford Motor Company (http://www.ford.com ) is the world's second largest
automaker, with approximately 345,000 employees in 200 markets on six
continents.  Its automotive brands include Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar,
Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury and Volvo.  Its automotive-related
services include Ford Credit, Quality Care and Hertz.  Its vision is to become
the world's leading consumer company for automotive products and services.

                    MAKE YOUR OPINION COUNT -  Click Here
               http://tbutton.prnewswire.com/prn/11690X02541384