US healthcare benefits broker Nava Benefits has acquired benefits consultants Nielsen Benefits Group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Nava uses technology in a bid to help employers cut healthcare costs, remove unnecessary benefits complexity, and make it easier for employees to understand and use their benefits.
It added the acquisition will enable the two companies to combine their consulting expertise with technology to bring their benefits approach to more midsize employers.
Brandon Weber, CEO of Nava Benefits, said: “In getting to know the NBG team, three things were crystal clear: they share our belief that benefits brokers have an outsized ability to fix healthcare; they care deeply about levelling up the member experience and supporting employees throughout each stage of their healthcare journey; and they actually deliver on the promise of lowering costs.
“We’re excited to come together to make cost-effective healthcare more accessible for employers and employees alike.”
Craig Nielsen, president and CEO of NBG, said: “After three decades of building Nielsen Benefits Group into an award-winning employee benefits brokerage, I wanted to find a partner who could take our client and market impact to new highs.
“Nava emerged as the clear choice versus traditional brokerages, offering a compelling partnership that brings cutting-edge innovation to our clients and a deeply mission-driven culture to my team.”
Ed Ligonde, executive vice president at NBG, added: “I’ve been doing this for almost 15 years and I believe that we’re entering a period of rapid change in our industry as employers’ needs evolve and healthcare costs reach a breaking point.
“Nava is at the forefront of innovation in the benefits brokerage industry and we’re thrilled to join them on their mission to fix healthcare by building the modern benefits brokerage.
“This is an exciting moment for our clients as they’ll continue to get incredible service and expertise from their core team, while also experiencing additional tools and capabilities that are typically reserved for the country’s largest companies, at no additional cost. As part of Nava, we can supercharge what we’re already accomplishing for our clients, allowing us to do it better, faster, and at a far greater scale.”