WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Just 100 days after its launch, Revolution Health Group (RHG) announced that it had completed the acquisition of six start-up health companies, made an investment in a seventh company, and hired its senior management team. This puts the company ahead of schedule in its drive to build the leading, comprehensive consumer-driven health company, and to bring its first major offerings to consumers in 2006.
RHG seeks to create a health company where patients are put at the center of the health system, with more choices, more convenience, and more control over their health care. The RHG board of directors is chaired by AOL Co- Founder Steve Case, and its members include former Secretary of State Colin Powell; former Fortune 500 CEOs Frank Raines, Jim Barksdale, Steve Wiggins, and Carly Fiorina; and leading venture capitalists/financiers Miles Gilburne, Jeff Zients, John Delaney, and David Golden, among others.
RHG’s Plans and Initial Acquisitions
When RHG was launched in July 2005, the co-founders promised news of its initial acquisitions this fall. Today, RHG is announcing its plans and progress in launching consumer offerings in three key areas: content, coverage, and care.
“With these initial investments, we are on our way to building a company that puts patients back in control of their health care decisions,” said Steve Case, Chairman of RHG. “I am pleased we have made so much progress so quickly, and excited about what we will be bringing to market in the months ahead. Still, the work has just begun on what is a long-term project that will take years to reach its full potential.”
The acquisitions are:
Content: RHG will launch a consumer-friendly health portal in 2006 ( http://www.revolutionhealth.com ). The website will be a leading tool for consumers as they manage their health needs and the health needs of their families.
To that end, RHG has acquired four companies that will provide key elements for the RHG portal: MyDNA Media, which offers health news and information; 1-800-Schedule, which helps consumers find doctors and schedule appointments with health care providers; Simo Software, Inc., which has created software that allows consumers to manage their health care spending, records and finances; and Wondir, Inc., which provides a community-based search for information about health needs and issues.
Other acquisitions will be added in the months ahead, as well as additional tools and content to be developed by the RHG team. “Our goal is bold, but simple: build the leading online resource for health care, period. With these acquisitions, we’ve got some great pieces, and some great people -- but there is still much work to be done,” said John Pleasants, CEO of Revolution Health Group.
Coverage: In conjunction with major partners, RHG plans to offer consumers new, easy-to-understand, health care coverage services that aim to give patients and their doctors more control over health care decisions.
To date, RHG has acquired a controlling interest in two companies that are already helping employers and individuals with health coverage needs:
-- Extend Benefits LLC ( http://www.extendbenefits.com ), which provides individual benefits solutions to corporate America. Its clients already include AutoNation, Continental Airlines and the PGA Tour, and later this month, Extend Benefits will be announcing a significant new partnership to offer defined contribution health plans to small businesses. -- ConnectYourCare, Inc. ( http://www.connectyourcare.com ), provides a robust consumer-directed health care platform to employers, banks, carriers, and third-party administrators. It offers health savings account management with an integrated debit card, online account access, comprehensive health care information tools, member advocacy, and a member-focused call center.
Both ConnectYourCare and ExtendBenefits will continue to develop and market products under their own brands, and work with RHG on its future consumer offerings, expected in late 2006.
Care: Finally, RHG has purchased a minority-position -- with an opportunity to acquire a majority stake -- in InterFit Health ( http://www.InterFit.com ), one of the nation’s largest providers of retail health screenings and immunizations delivered in retail outlets and at employer worksites. For example, this fall, InterFit will offer low-cost flu shots to shoppers in every Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club in the United States.
Most significantly, RHG is providing the capital to support the roll-out of InterFit’s “RediClinics” ( http://www.RediClinic.com ) -- retail-based convenient health care centers that provide fast, affordable treatment for routine medical conditions, as well as screenings, medical tests, and immunizations and other preventive services. These facilities are staffed with certified nurse practitioners, who are trained and licensed to diagnose, treat, and prescribe medications for common, non-emergency medical conditions in collaboration with local physicians.
RediClinics are located inside popular retail outlets, and are open seven days a week, with extended hours on weekdays. Seven RediClinics are already operating in Wal-Mart Supercenters in Arkansas and Oklahoma, and in H-E-B stores in Texas. Five more RediClinics will open in the next 45 days, including one in a Duane Reade pharmacy near Times Square in New York City. RediClinic is the second-largest national convenient care chain, with a major, nationwide expansion planned in 2006.
Executive Team
In addition to its acquisitions, RHG is also announcing the members of its senior executive team.
-- John Pleasants, CEO. Before joining RHG two weeks ago, Mr. Pleasants held multiple leadership positions at IAC/InterActiveCorp. These included serving as CEO of Ticketmaster, and President of IAC’s Information and Services Group, where he helped turn start-ups such as Match.com, Evite, and CitySearch into household names. Knitting together a variety of companies into cohesive operating units -- Pleasants’ strategy at IAC/InterActiveCorp -- is also the strategy that RHG has adopted for its launch. -- Ron Peele, Chief Financial Officer. For more than a year before the launch of Revolution Health Group, Mr. Peele worked with Steve Case in laying the groundwork for its formation. Prior to that, Mr. Peele was Vice President of AOL Investments, and helped launch AOL’s venture capital group. Previously, he was CFO of AOL’s Greenhouse unit, and the CFO of EZ Communications, a publicly traded radio broadcaster. -- Martin Fisher, Chief Technology Officer. Mr. Fisher was Chief Operating Officer of SimoHealth. Previously he was President of AOL’s Technology Development, where he oversaw the development of software and systems across all AOL. In this role, Mr. Fisher managed a team of more than 2,500 employees who developed products and software for AOL members and Internet users worldwide. -- Matthew Koll, Managing Director, Community Health Information Division. Dr. Koll, the CEO and Founder of Wondir, is an information scientist and entrepreneur with twenty-five years of experience in search and related industries. Dr. Koll was the founder of Personal Library Software, which he built into the leading search technology provider to the online industry prior to its acquisition by AOL in 1998 -- Don Hackett, Managing Director, Information Portal Division. Mr. Hackett spent the past ten years focused on the consumerization of the health industry with companies such as myDNA Media, 1-800-Schedule, drkoop.com, and Physician Computer Network. He is credited with launching the first health-centric search engine and the first consumer-centric, personal medical records system; he has co-authored patents on Internet and telephony based patient referral processes. -- Todd Lash, Managing Director, Consumer Products Division. Mr. Lash was the CEO and co-founder of SimoHealth. As an early pioneer in the commercialization of the Internet, Mr. Lash has played prominent roles at several Internet start-ups including GetActive Software, RespondTV and Global Network Navigator, which was bought by AOL. -- Jill Blickstein, Managing Director, Research. Before joining RHG, Ms. Blickstein was a Vice President at Fannie Mae, working in the office of the Chair. Earlier, she served as a Special Assistant to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Also joining the RHG Operating Committee are three other executives: -- Bryce Williams, CEO, Extend Benefits LLC. Prior to joining Extend, Mr. Williams was the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at eHealth -- the parent company of eHealthInsurance Services. During his tenure there, eHealth became the largest individual health insurance broker in the United States. Earlier, Mr. Williams served as Director of Development for OnCare, a leading oncology physician practice management company. -- Web Gonklin, CEO, InterFit, Inc. Mr. Gonklin has been the CEO of InterFit for the past three years. Earlier, he served as CEO of American Medical Communications, Inc., which became one of the nation’s largest producers and distributors of health-related television and video programming; he was also the CEO of America’s Health Network, Inc., which become the nation’s largest health-related cable television network and one of the most popular health-related websites. -- Terry Hunter, CEO, ConnectYourCare, Inc. Mr. Hunter has over 30 years of experience in the consulting and software integration industries, with a focus on benefits and HR administration. He is the former CEO of Cap Gemini’s IT services subsidiary, Sogeti USA; the former CEO of Campsix, a Silicon Valley Internet-products incubator; and, the former President of Renaissance Worldwide’s Global Solutions business.
“I’m pleased to join with this all-star team as we build the Revolution Health Group,” said John Pleasants, CEO of RHG. “Working together, we can bring consumers new choices -- new products and new services -- that will empower them and help them lead healthier lives.”
Revolution Health Group
Revolution Health Group was established in July 2005 to create the leading comprehensive consumer-directed healthcare company. One of three business groups in the Revolution LLC family of companies, RHG empowers consumers by putting them at the center of the health system, building innovative health- related companies through investments, acquisitions and partnerships. RHG’s strategy is to create businesses and products that provide greater consumer choice, control and convenience in three key healthcare sectors affected by the rapid growth of the Internet, and defined-contribution health plans: content; coverage; and care.
Revolution, LLC
Revolution, a Washington, DC-based operating and investment company launched by Steve Case in April 2005, seeks to drive transformative change by shifting power to consumers and building significant, category-defining companies in the process. Revolution’s aim is to give people more choice, control and convenience in three market sectors poised for disruptive change -- Health, Living, and Resorts.
Revolution Health Group
CONTACT: Terry Banks, +1-202-828-9710, or Malin Jennings, +1-202-828-5061,both of Revolution Health Group
