HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Francis S. Soistman, Jr., HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance president and CEO, has been appointed to the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council. Mr. Soistman joins a 21-member council providing direction for the state agency charged with addressing growing health care costs. He was appointed by Governor Edward G. Rendell.
“It’s an honor to be appointed by Governor Rendell as a member of the council,” said Mr. Soistman. “HealthAmerica has a long-standing reputation for being dedicated to effective medical cost management. As the CEO of one of the largest health insurance companies based in Pennsylvania, I see firsthand the many cost drivers that are compromising our ability to provide citizens of the Commonwealth access to affordable health insurance coverage. Serving on the council provides HealthAmerica the opportunity to represent the health insurance industry in sharing perspective and offering potential solutions to the rising cost of health care.”
The Health Care Cost Containment Council is an independent state agency formed in 1986 under Pennsylvania statute to address rapidly growing health care costs. The council’s strategy to contain costs is twofold. First, it aims to stimulate competition in the health care market by giving comparative information about the most efficient and effective health care providers to individual consumers and group purchasers of health services. And second, it strives to provide information to health care providers that they can use to identify opportunities to contain costs and improve the quality of care they deliver. The council consists of representatives coming from the business community, organized labor and state health insurers, plus health care professionals, consumers and leaders from various state agencies.
About HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance
HealthAmerica Pennsylvania, Inc., has a 29-year record in managed care. HealthAmerica, HealthAssurance Pennsylvania, Inc., and affiliate companies cover over 730,000 members in Pennsylvania and Ohio through HMO, POS, PPO, Medicaid, and MedicareAdvantage plans. In addition, HealthAmerica earned an “Excellent” Accreditation for its HMO plan and HealthAssurance earned an “Excellent” Accreditation for the HealthAssurance POS by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to measuring the quality of America’s health care. With corporate offices in Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance provide managed health care products and services to over 11,000 employers in Pennsylvania and Ohio. HealthAmerica and its affiliates employ over 1,500 people in Pennsylvania. For more information, visit HealthAmerica’s website at http://www.healthamerica.cvty.com/ .
HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance
CONTACT: Kendall Marcocci, Director of Communications of HealthAmericaand HealthAssurance, +1-717-540-6746, or kmarcocci@cvty.com
Web site: http://www.healthamerica.cvty.com/
