MARIETTA, Ga., Feb. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Matria Healthcare, Inc. today announced that it has been awarded six new disease management accounts. Five of the Company’s six new awards of business are with large self-insured employers and one is with a Third Party Administrator. The Company reported that these new accounts are in addition to the four new awards of business that were announced on December 2, 2004.
Matria reported that it expects to complete implementation of services for the new accounts during the first and second quarters of 2005. The five employers selecting Matria’s disease management services include a Fortune 100 company, three companies in the Fortune 200, and a non-public company with annual revenues in excess of two billion dollars. The new accounts will collectively represent more than 350,000 additional covered lives under Matria’s management.
Parker H. Petit, chairman and chief executive officer, stated “We are pleased to see that the demand from employers for disease management programs continues to grow. As more employers, health plans and third party administrators become aware of the outcomes and the compelling returns on investment that Matria’s disease management programs have produced for our clients, we expect to see even greater demand for our services. Our capability to simultaneously implement numerous new accounts in a seamless fashion has become another recognized competency of our Company. We expect this capability to serve the Company well as the demand for our services gains momentum.”
Matria will manage multiple diseases and conditions in each of the new accounts. The Company has been awarded the management of eight diseases and conditions in one account, seven diseases and conditions in two accounts, and four and five diseases and conditions respectively in two other accounts. In the remaining account, Matria has a long relationship as the provider of this employer’s maternity management program and now Matria will be adding its disease management services for that company’s employees and dependents with cancer. The newly awarded employer accounts have collectively selected Matria’s health enhancement programs for the conditions of diabetes, congestive heart failure (CHF), coronary artery disease (CAD), asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cancer, maternity, end stage renal disease, low back pain and obesity. The Third Party Administrator has selected Matria’s disease management services for its regional members afflicted with the chronic conditions of diabetes, CAD, CHF, asthma, COPD, low back pain and depression and the episodic condition of cancer.
The Company also announced that its results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2004, will be released after the close of the market on Tuesday, February 22, 2005. The Company will also provide an online webcast of its fourth quarter and year-end 2004 earnings conference call on Wednesday, February 23, 2005. The live broadcast of Matria Healthcare’s conference call will begin at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time on February 23, 2005. A 30-day online replay will be available approximately one hour following the conclusion of the live broadcast. A link to these events can be found on the Company’s website at http://www.matria.com/ or at http://www.fulldisclosure.com/.
ABOUT MATRIA HEALTHCARE
Matria Healthcare is a leading provider of comprehensive disease management programs to health plans and employers. Matria manages the following major chronic diseases and episodic conditions -- diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, high-risk obstetrics, cancer, chronic pain and depression. 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/.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT
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 and the continuing demand for the Company’s disease management programs. 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 healthplan 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, 2003. 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