ERIE, Pa., March 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Ion Health Holdings, Inc., today announced that Ion Health has crossed a key milestone, by enrolling its 10,000th member less than one year after being given permission to begin providing medical benefits to Medical Assistance-eligible men, women and children. In doing so, Ion Health has quickly grown, achieving a status as the state’s fourth largest voluntary Medical Assistance health plan.
Numbers provided by the state Department of Public Welfare (DPW) show Ion Health with a total enrollment of 12,322 members as of today. Those members receive access to high-quality healthcare, across the five counties in which DPW has licensed Ion Health to operate.
“When we began enrolling members last April, we knew that we would be successful in our efforts, but did not know the extent nor the speed with which we would be accepted in the communities that we serve,” said Anthony Horbal, Ion Health Holdings’ founder and chief executive officer. “We intend to continue this growth by partnering with DPW to begin working in other communities throughout the state. There are thousands of people who can benefit from our services; we want to help them become healthy, and stay healthy.”
In its first year, Ion Health has built a solid reputation for providing a solid base of healthcare services to its members, including a full range of dental, vision and prescription services, in addition to establishing a panel of more than 1,600 providers. Moreover, Ion Health has also created several innovative programs, such as enabling its members in Erie County to use facilities at the local YMCA to promote physical activity, and by providing a crib and baby monitor to expectant mothers who successfully complete a pre- natal education program. Both benefits are available at no charge to the members.
All of this has been accomplished under a managed care model; a report from the Buckeye Institute quotes a U.S. General Accounting Office study as saying that Medicaid healthcare plans routinely save states between five and 15 percent in costs over traditional healthcare plans.
Ion Health’s growth, said Horbal, is all the more impressive, since the company has enrolled its members in so-called “voluntary counties,” counties where Medical Assistance-eligible recipients have had the option to either enroll in managed care plans like Ion Health, or to remain covered under the state’s traditional, fee-for-service Access program. “We have clearly proven our worth to both our members and the taxpayers of Pennsylvania,” Horbal stated. “By moving into more counties and communities throughout the state in the coming year, we will strengthen our services and solidify our ability to help people.”
Ion Health Holdings, Inc.
CONTACT: Steve Friedberg, MMI Communications, +1-610-518-7474,steve@mmicommunications.net, for Ion Health Holdings