2006 Press Releases

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LifeMasters Contracts with Ohio Public Employee Retirement System to Provide Disease Management Services

Contract Expands LifeMasters’ Presence in Ohio and Leverages Experience and Success with Retirement Systems

South San Francisco, Calif., June 28, 2006 – LifeMasters Supported SelfCare, Inc., a leading provider of disease management programs and services in the nation, announced today that it is providing disease management services to retired members of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (Ohio PERS), the largest state pension fund in Ohio and the sixteenth largest retirement plan in the United States.

“LifeMasters is the most recent addition to a comprehensive program developed with guidance from the Ohio PERS board of trustees to address high risk, core diseases,” said Doug Foust, assistant director of Health Care at Ohio PERS. “We estimate that 19,000 retirees would be immediately eligible for the LifeMasters program in terms of disease management services that LifeMasters provides.”

Studies have shown that medical expenses incurred by individuals with chronic illness account for a disproportionate share of health care expenditures in this country. By keeping individuals healthy and following the best standards of care, preventable hospital admissions, and emergency department visits are reduced along with the associated costs.
Given the higher than average percentage of chronically ill individuals in retiree populations, disease management can be a useful tool for retirement systems to help stem the rising tide of medical costs while remaining true to their mission of providing support and security to the individuals they serve.

Under the three-year contract, retired Ohio PERS members with diabetes, heart failure, coronary artery disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and/or low back pain, have access to LifeMasters disease management services. LifeMasters disease management programs provide customized coaching, lifestyle-modification and regular telephonic support from their own individually-assigned health coach.  Participants learn to monitor their vital signs and symptoms to detect early changes in their health status. Program participants also receive supporting health education to encourage behavioral change. Participants’ personal physicians are alerted to significant changes in their patients’ health so they can intervene early to avoid emergency room visits and hospitalizations.

LifeMasters has experience in providing disease management programs to public employee retirement systems which have demonstrated that successful, well implemented disease management programs can reduce health care utilization and cost, while improving quality of life and member satisfaction.

“LifeMasters is excited to work with Ohio PERS to provide disease management services to their members and work toward positive outcomes to improve the health of its retirees,” said David R. Strand, President and Chief Executive Officer of LifeMasters.  “We have confidence that our track record and experience will enable Ohio PERS to achieve impressive results in managing their constituents with chronic disease,” continued Strand.

“LifeMasters fits Ohio PERS’ philosophy of helping its retirees stay healthy longer, thereby reducing health care costs associated with long-term chronic illness while adding to the quality of their lives,” Foust said. “We believe their disease management program will not only improve the health of our retirees with chronic illnesses but will provide us with the level of cost savings already seen among similar populations."

About OPERS
The Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (Ohio PERS) is the largest state pension fund in Ohio and the 16th largest U.S. retirement plan. Ohio PERS reported $69 billion in total assets as of Dec. 31, 2005. Ohio PERS consists of a pension fund (defined benefit) and a health care fund. The defined benefit fund returned 9.25 percent in 2005 and totaled $57.2 billion at the end of 2005. The health care fund returned 8 percent and totaled $11.8 billion. Ohio PERS distributes $3.7 billion annually in pension and health benefits to almost 152,000 retirees.

About LifeMasters Supported SelfCare
LifeMasters Supported SelfCare, Inc. is a leading provider of disease management programs and services that create health partnerships among individuals, their physicians and payors. Its mission is to empower individuals to achieve and maintain optimal health. The programs improve quality of care for people with chronic illnesses, reduce chronic-disease costs for payors and provide decision-support tools for physicians. LifeMasters offers programs for individuals with diabetes, congestive heart failure (CHF), coronary artery disease (CAD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) hypertension and asthma (all of which are fully accredited by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and URAC) and musculo-skeletal pain.  LifeMasters’ programs are holistically focused and support co-morbidities such as depression and facilitate lifestyle changes such as smoking cessation and weight loss.  LifeMasters provides services to more than 600,000 people throughout the nation.

Founded in 1994 by a physician, LifeMasters works with some of the nation’s leading health plans, employers, retirement systems and governmental organizations, including Aetna, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration (Medicaid) and CMS.  More information about LifeMasters can be found at www.lifemasters.com or by calling 1-800-777-1307.