History

Our business began in 1983 as a result of the work of our founder, Ted Reutz, Ph.D. Dr. Reutz garnered invaluable experience while attending the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (BS in Economics), Stanford University (MA), Universidad Central de Venezuela, and the University of Chicago (Ph.D.). Additional insight was gained through his experience teaching entitlements and health care at the University of Texas.

The unifying theme of his work is the predictable choices that all individuals (whether employees, vendors, or employers) make when confronted with different incentives, organizational structures, technology and prices. Translation: Given the proper choices, individuals will make the right decisions; however, most benefit plans don’t provide the right incentives, the right choices or the right technology.

While many employee benefit consultants and providers are messengers for medical cost increases, Benefits Design, Inc. (BDI) and HealthWealth, Inc. (HWI) endeavor to re-align employee benefits and individual employee incentives for cost effectiveness to the advantage of both the employer and the employee. We have developed highly defined Performance Systems to assist clients in identifying where they want to go, and the most cost effective steps to get there. Working with clients we have identified five paramount criteria for evaluating the cost effectiveness of corporate employee benefits. We then developed modules of services around these distinct criteria to meet client needs. We continually seek to improve new ways of administering employee benefits using electronic and internet technologies, thus reducing client HR burdens, and saving time and money.

Throughout this process BDI and its affiliate HWI has been client, not commission, driven. Dr. Reutz and his wife, Jacqlynne Hart, view their companies’ work as a “calling” – not a job. “Given the right choices each individual will make the right decision for her/himself.” was not only the focus of Dr. Reutz’s dissertation it is one of the guiding principles of BDI. Together with HWI’s dedication to “empowering each individual whose life it touches to lead a healthier, happier, more productive life” the result is finding solutions “… to facilitate each client’s success.”

Education is ongoing in the BDI/HWI world, both internally and externally. Partnering with clients, finding a better, faster, smarter way is always the goal. Our passion is to identify problems because we can then develop solutions and make improvements. In a very real sense, there are no problems; there are only opportunities.