New Citi Flu Care card cuts costs.

Citi's Global Transactions Services group has designed a new payment solution to help companies offer this year's flu shot to employees for a much lower price. Called the Citi Flu Care card, it covers the cost of a flu vaccination for the holder at over 17,000 pharmacies and clinics nationwide, where prices are a fraction of those in a doctor's office or at a corporate onsite health care provider. The price works out to about $30 per vaccination in the pharmacy setting, about $50 below the same service delivered in a doctor's office or corporate clinic, according to June 2010 research from a benefits consulting firm.

The payment solution doesn't require companies to tie up resources by preloading the card with cash. Instead, it charges employers only when the card is swiped. The technology, which has a patent pending, also restricts the card's use to the flu shot.

Andrew Radlow, VP of health management for Citi Prepaid Services, told the The Wall Street Journal's Health Blog that the money-saving concept has the potential to be applied to other preventative services or tests. "It's a low-cost but highly controlled way to get basic but super-effective products to people who need them," he said.

For the first time, the CDC is recommending that everyone over the age of 6 months be vaccinated against the flu. "It's incredibly exciting to think about the impact [the card] could have on the health and productivity of individuals and our economy as a whole," said Paul Simpson, Global Head of Treasury and Trade Solutions, Global Transactions Services, Citi. "We're excited to think about the other applications this product will have in market."