MARIETTA, Ga., April 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Matria Healthcare, Inc. announced that it has been awarded four new disease management accounts and expanded programs and services for two of the Company’s current disease management clients. The Company’s four new awards of business are with two self-insured employers and two third party administrators. The two awards of business for the expansion of the Company’s health enhancement programs and services are with a self-insured employer and a regional health plan.
The Company reported that these new awards are in addition to the six awards of new business that were announced February 2, 2005. The newly awarded services for one of the new accounts and one of the expanded accounts have already been implemented, and Matria expects to implement services for the remaining accounts during the second and third quarters of 2005.
The two new employers selecting Matria’s disease management services include a Fortune 700 company and a non-public company with annual revenues of approximately six billion dollars. The new third party administrator accounts will provide Matria’s disease management programs to their members. Collectively, the new employer and third party administrator accounts will represent approximately 100,000 additional covered lives. The two existing Matria accounts adding health enhancement programs and services for their employees and health plan members are a Fortune 300 company and a regional health plan with approximately 1.5 million covered lives.
Parker H. “Pete” Petit, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “We continue to see a steady flow of new accounts selecting our health enhancement services for their employees and their health plan members. We are especially pleased to see existing accounts recognizing the compelling outcomes and excellent patient satisfaction scores from their disease management programs; and therefore, expanding the breadth of Matria’s programs and services that are available to their employees and members. We have continually pursued the broadening of our programs and services to encompass the full-continuum of care and a total health enhancement solution that brings together a comprehensive array of programs to support the health, well-being and productivity of employees and health plan members.”
“We believe the best testimony of a client’s satisfaction with the return on investment from disease management programs is the client’s desire to offer expanded health enhancement programs. We are just beginning to experience what we believe will become a trend ... accounts adding more and more components to their health enhancement offerings and doing so with a one-stop- shop provider,” added Petit.
In three of Matria’s new accounts, the Company has been awarded the management of four or more diseases and conditions. The other new account has selected Matria’s cancer management program for its members. In the existing health plan account, Matria has a long relationship as the provider of this health plan’s diabetes, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and maternity management programs, and now Matria will be adding its 24/7 nurse triage program. The existing employer account expanding Matria’s services will be adding the Company’s disease management programs for cancer and end- stage renal disease to its current Matria programs for diabetes, coronary artery disease and low back pain.
Matria Healthcare is a leading provider of comprehensive health enhancement programs to health plans and employers. Matria manages major chronic diseases and episodic conditions including diabetes, congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, high-risk obstetrics, cancer, chronic pain, depression, end-stage renal disease, and obesity; delivers programs that address wellness, healthy living, productivity improvement, and patient advocacy; and provides case management of acute and catastrophic conditions. Headquartered in Marietta, Georgia, Matria has more than 40 offices in the United States and internationally. More information about Matria can be found on line at http://www.matria.com/.
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Such statements include but are not limited to the ability of the Company to convert awards of business into implemented contracts, the timing of contract implementation, the continuing demand for the Company’s disease management programs and the trend among existing accounts to expand their offering of the Company’s programs and services. These statements are based on current information and belief, and are not guarantees of future performance. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements include delays or problems in implementation of new disease management contracts, failure to convert awards of disease management business into implemented contracts, decreased employer and health plan interest in or demand for the Company’s disease management programs, developments in the healthcare industry, third-party actions over which Matria does not have control, regulatory requirements applicable to Matria’s business and the risk factors detailed from time to time in Matria’s periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Matria’s Annual Report on From 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004. By making these forward-looking statements, Matria does not undertake to update them in any manner except as may be required by Matria’s disclosure obligations in filings it makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the federal securities laws.
Matria Healthcare, Inc.
CONTACT: Stephen M. Mengert, Chief Financial Officer of MatriaHealthcare, Inc., +1-770-767-4500
Web site: http://www.matria.com/