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Meritain Health Targets Waste and Fraud with New Cost Management Unit

Contact:
Kathleen Shea
410.902.5053 
kshea@mghus.com  

Chris McMurry
410.902.5036
cmcmurry@mghus.com

Cost Management Strategies Department is the Newest Addition to Meritain's Comprehensive Health Benefits and Wellness Programs

AMHERST, N.Y. (April 11, 2007) - Experts agree that the American healthcare system is complicated by inflated prices, inappropriate care, waste and fraud. To address these issues, Meritain Health, the nation's largest independent provider of services for self-funded health and wellness plans, has introduced its new Cost Management Strategies department to build upon its existing cost saving models.

Raising the bar for other administrators and national carriers, Meritain's Cost Management Strategies department will identify ways to assist clients in managing employee healthcare costs. Specifically, Cost Management Strategies will evaluate medical spending, plan design and individual consumer behaviors to promote overall member health and financial stability for employer health plans.

"We are pleased to offer our clients these invaluable and innovative services," said Tracie Canby, Senior Vice President, Cost Management Strategies at Meritain Health. "Meritain is committed to containing and assessing healthcare costs for our clients and believes Cost Management Strategies is a key component in providing an exceptional and well-rounded health benefits package. Our clients can look to Meritain to aid in promoting the financial health of their benefit plans, and the well-being of their employees."

In the first step toward determining healthcare-associated costs, Meritain's Cost Management Strategies department will analyze current medical spending by its clients. The department will also review and manage high-dollar claims. In order to provide its clients with even more cost-saving solutions, Meritain will use this information to decrease the percentage of claims paid at retail cost and determine the best access to provider networks at the group and member levels.

The plan design and consultative aspect of Cost Management Strategies will be particularly valuable to Meritain's middle-market clients. The focus on plan design and consultation will take a retrospective approach in examining client spending history and trends. Meritain will work with clients to develop healthcare strategies - both immediate and long term - as a way to stabilize healthcare expenses, thus providing competitive benefits. Through plan design and consultation, Meritain will make recommendations based on the nature of the clients' employee base.

Furthering Meritain Health's commitment to overall wellness, Cost Management Strategies will proactively monitor individual consumer behavior and risk. Meritain's health managers will take a strategic approach in emphasizing a well-rounded and health-conscious lifestyle. Health managers will provide long-term services and educate members through the use of clinical-based studies that support and encourage individuals to embrace wellness. Through this service, Cost Management Strategies will analyze employee claims and identify trends in health history on both the individual and organizational level.

"Cost Management Strategies will highlight the need for employers to emphasize overall health and wellness," said Dr. Larry Luter, Chief Medical Officer at Meritain. "Through this service, Meritain, in conjunction with employers, will be able to pin-point employee healthcare expenditures that are preventable and avoidable."

The Cost Management Strategies department will consist of 31 full-time employees located in Meritain's Amherst, N.Y., Baltimore and Minneapolis offices.

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About Meritain Health:
Meritain Health is the nation's largest independent provider of services for self-funded health plans. Meritain Health serves more than 1,400 self-funded clients and more than 1 million members nationally. The company provides plan administration, innovative wellness, medical management, disease management, network management and cost management services. Meritain Health is also a pioneer and now the leading independent provider of Consumer Directed Health Plans. Meritain Health employs more than 1,350 people, with headquarters in Amherst, N.Y., and regional offices in 28 cities across the country.

For more information, visit www.meritain.com.