NEWS
March 2008
The Covenant, a leading healthcare management company, announces the release of STATReview® a specialty and hospital bill review software solution utilizing provider reimbursement data as the defined standard for analyzing medical and hospital bills. STATReview® is a proprietary product of Covenant Specialty Analytics specifically developed as a cost containment tool for third-party administrators, preferred provider organizations, self-insured and self-administered employers, insurers and reinsurers. The use of reimbursement data as a benchmark for bill review represents a significant paradigm shift from the dated yet still widely used current industry model which produced little or no savings.
About Covenant Specialty Analytics:
Covenant Specialty Analytics, a Covenant Company, provides prompt, professional and proactive cost containment outcomes for our clients-designed to maximize savings while minimizing provider challenges. The focus, experience, and historical results in the area of specialty review are unprecedented as confirmed by an ever broadening market segment, client development and retention, with reports of consistent and measurable client/payor satisfaction ratings of "Excellent".
- Average savings of 46.7% with a penetration rate of 93%
- Reviews performed based on automated objective benchmarks and standards
- Third party data derived from over 20 million claim transactions
- Proprietary provider specific payment, cost and reimbursement criterion
- Financial, medical, and legal considerations integrated in each review
- The Covenant's Advanced Funding Product secures excellent discounts with no "provider push back or balance billing issues" by guaranteeing providers an immediate payment solution. Hospitals and providers are accepting greater discounts in return for improved revenue cycle management.
For additional information please contact:
Corporate Communications
The Covenant
P.O. Box 11853
Spring, Texas 77391
866.557.8660
281.251.5733 Fax
info@thecovenantcompanies.com
March 2008
The Covenant, a leading healthcare management company, has partnered with Casualty Management Network in Colorado to exclusively provide The Covenant's comprehensive suite of Network Management Services. The Covenant will manage all operations of the network and deploy proprietary tools and technology for data management, claims repricing, provider contracting, EDI facilities, Internet portal, and Web Service applications.
Casualty Management Network has contracts with over 5,300 providers, hospitals, and facilities in Colorado. "We are excited to add CMN as a network partner," said Mark D. Derr, President and Chief Financial Officer of The Covenant. "CMN is well positioned in the Colorado market. We will continue to develop and enhance the network for the benefit of employers, their members and dependents, as well as our participating providers."
For additional information on providers and locations, please contact:
Provider Relations Unit
Casualty Management Network
The Covenant
P.O. Box 11853
Spring, Texas 77391
866.557.8660
281.251.5733 Fax
providerrelations@thecovenantcompanies.com
March 2008
The agreement between the companies provides The Covenant and their subsidiaries access to Golden Triangle's Specialty Renal Network. The Preferred Network provides access to over 3,000 contracted out-patient dialysis facilities. "Dialysis is a niche industry that necessitates an understanding of the specific disease and treatment process as well as the unique billing and reimbursement process," states Polli Yount, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Golden Triangle Specialty Network. Polli continues, "Our relationship with The Covenant allows us to better serve the needs of The Covenant's clients as each claim receives an individual review from our highly experienced staff that understands the intricacies of the dialysis industry."
We are pleased to offer this outstanding service to our clients," said Mark D. Derr, President and Chief Financial Officer of The Covenant. "Our company is dedicated to continuously providing the best and most innovative cost containment solutions in the industry and we are delighted to work hand in hand with Golden Triangle to serve our clients ," stated Derr.
For additional information on providers and locations, please contact:
Provider Relations Unit
The Covenant
P.O. Box 11853
Spring, Texas 77391
866.557.8660
281.251.5733 Fax
providerrelations@thecovenantcompanies.com
January 2008
Papp will serve as Executive Vice President of National Accounts and will be responsible for business development and the promotion of The Covenant's portfolio of healthcare cost containment products and services.
"As we continue to grow and build our product and service offerings, it's critical that we position within our firm, industry experienced executives such as Carl to ensure that our clients understand, with complete clarity, the complexity of our workproduct and medical analytics," stated Richard L. Cochran, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Covenant.
"Carl's industry experience and relationship development will enable us as a company to gain additional market share and to fortify for our clients a position of stability and excellence as we respond to a constantly changing healthcare landscape."
Papp also serves as the Chairman of The Board of Directors and CEO of The Initial Group, A Regional Healthcare Holdings Company. The Initial Group is a PPO Network headquartered in Tennessee with a service area that extends throughout Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky and Virginia. Prior to joining The Covenant, Carl was employed by The Beech Street Corporation, Preferred Health Network and HealthStar.
"Throughout the years I have enjoyed an outstanding relationship with The Covenant. I am excited to be an integral part of the company," said Papp. "With a strong leadership and technology team in place, we will support our clients in achieving their healthcare cost containment objectives, while at the same time building and developing The Covenant's corporate visibility and reputation as a cost containment leader within the industry."
Papp holds the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designation from the American College of Life Underwriters.
Corporate Communications
The Covenant
Atlanta Dallas Houston Phoenix
P.O. Box 11853
Spring, Texas 77391
866.557.8660
281.251.5733 Fax
info@thecovenantcompanies.com
January 2008
Ms. Borski will be responsible for managing all aspects of operations for client services. "I am delighted to announce Diane as a strategic addition to our executive management team. She has a great track record of success in the industry. This is a natural evolution of our leadership structure as The Covenant continues to grow," said Joseph E. Auksel, Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of The Covenant.
"I am honored to serve The Covenant in this capacity," Ms. Borski said. "I am looking forward to working with our clients and supporting their business and cost containment initiatives."
Ms. Borski has extensive experience in the insurance industry most recently with Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services, Inc. She holds a degree in Risk Management and is a Certified Insurance Counselor. Diane is located in Corporate Headquarters, Houston Texas.
Corporate Communications
The Covenant
Atlanta Dallas Houston Phoenix
P.O. Box 11853
Spring, Texas 77391
866.557.8660
281.251.5733 Fax
info@thecovenantcompanies.com
November 2007
The Covenant and ChiroSource, Inc. are pleased to announce the completion of a national agreement. The agreement between the companies provides The Covenant Companies and their subsidiaries; The Covenant Network, The Initial Group Network and Valley Provider Network, access to the national ChiroSource chiropractic provider network, bringing the chiropractors that comprise the ChiroSource provider network access to the in-network business of The Covenant Companies.
Dr. Ronald Cataldo, President and CEO of ChiroSource, Inc. stated, "We are excited to be selected by The Covenant Companies to increase the value of services available to their clients through the addition of our highly credentialed chiropractic provider network."
ChiroSource, Inc., incorporated in 1997, is a privately held chiropractic cost containment company, based in Concord, CA. ChiroSource counts among our customers, nearly every major independent national PPO, as well as many regional PPOs and local PPOs throughout the U.S.A. ChiroSource clients save from 15% to over 70% of the costs of their chiropractic claims and management costs by utilizing our cost containment services. In addition to group health and workers\ compensation networks, through our affiliated companies; Basic Chiropractic Health Plan, Inc., Chiropractic Health Plan of California, Inc. and Preferred Utilization Management, Inc.; ChiroSource also offers a fully licensed chiropractic HMO in California, utilization management programs for chiropractic and physical therapy services on a national basis and complete chiropractic benefit management carve-outs on both risk bearing and non-risk bearing basis.
October 2007
The Covenant Companies announce partnership with the Dr Bill Exchange for expediting medical bill cost containment and accessing new networks.
Rick Cochran, Vice Chairman and CEO of The Covenant Companies stated, "It required proactive visionary solutions." Medical bill processing within an ever changing healthcare environment dictates sophisticated technology applications and solutions.
Dr Bill Exchange revolutionizes medical bill cost containment processing. It builds an electronic community of Claims Payers and re-pricing Partners. It removes the technology constraints of doing business directly between all trading partners. It removes cost constraints as well; Dr Bill charges nominal amounts per bill on a fixed basis. It creates an open market, and enables each claims payer to develop and maintain their own best-of-breed solution. It increases the reductions of charges, and improves PPO penetration. It puts control back in the hands of the business partners - not intermediaries or IT project funding committees.
Dr Bill is an electronic exchange that greatly simplifies the re-pricing process, draining the majority of overhead out of the processing cost over time. Each exchange member needs only to connect once to the Exchange in order to do business with all other connected members. Dr Bill's specialized tools and support make connections in a matter of weeks. As an ASP offering, the Exchange also handles all the backups, restores and other day-to-day operational issues, further reducing complexity and expense.
Payers can now easily add more vendor partners to improve penetration and increase reductions in bill charges. And they can manage them easily. Dr Bill provides a set of easy-to-use facilities, featuring our new Routing Plan Management technology, which helps construct a custom vendor lineup. So now it's easy to take advantage of regional re-pricing specialists while still reducing "looks" and "touches".
Ken Wuelfing, President of Dr Bill Exchange states: "Vendor partners have much to gain as well - namely customers, control, and revenue. They can now pursue any prospects in any markets they choose, not just the ones that sign onto an intermediary's service. They can process their own bills; improve their networks through enhanced information; provide their customers with increased reductions using their own current data and trained staff; and greatly reduce the cost of implementation and operations."
Dr Bill doesn't get in the middle of your business, unlike current intermediaries. Business partners develop their own agreements, based on the value that one business can deliver to the other. Savings on charges and reduction in total costs can be divided between the payer and partner as they agree. We just want to connect all of the business partners in the industry - it's what we do best, it's the new business model-a win-win for all Exchange members involved. This new business model is inevitable. It simplifies the process and reduces overhead on an industry-wide basis. It puts business leaders in charge. It opens a new world of business relationships that enables superior cost containment results. The old model is no longer affordable or sustainable.
About Dr. Bill Exchange
Founded in 2003, the Dr Bill Exchange (
www.drbillexchange.com) provides high quality software services that enable its clients to re-invent the medical bill re-pricing process, achieving outstanding performance. The Exchange manages and delivers electronic bills between payer and their re-pricing and analytics partners. The rapidly-growing Exchange has electronic access to 6,000,000+ bills per year.
Corporate Communications:
www.thecovenantcompanies.com
August 2007
The Covenant announces agreement with PTPN. We are pleased to announce the addition of PTPN as a network partner, said Richard Cochran, Vice Chairman/CEO of The Covenant Companies. PTPN has grown to more than 1200 member/provider clinics across the United States. "We look forward to joining forces with The Covenant to provide their clients with convenient access to the best quality outpatient rehab care, " stated Michael Weiner, MPH, PT, President/CEO, PTPN.
For additional information on providers and clinic locations, please contact:
Provider Relations Unit
The Covenant
P.O. Box 11853
Spring, Texas 77391
866.557.8660
281.251.5733 Fax
providerrelations@thecovenantcompanies.com
May 2007
Advanced Processing Group, Inc., Amersys, Inc. and The Covenant have agreed to merge becoming The Covenant Companies.
For many years The Advanced Processing Group and The Covenant have successfully provided excellent service and a deep commitment
to providing superior value in medical cost containment. Amersys, an industry leading information technology firm and the parent
company of Advanced Processing Group, has delivered proprietary medical management software solutions for nearly seventeen years.
The merger is a natural expansion of the already successful partnership.
"We are pleased and excited to provide our clients with an expanded portfolio of cost containment products and services,"
said Richard Cochran, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Covenant.
"Our company is dedicated to deliver innovative cost containment solutions to an ever changing industry," stated Cochran.
April 2007
The Covenant Acquires Interest in Valley Provider Network
For network information or provider nominations, please direct inquiries to:
Network Analytics Unit
Valley Provider Network
16757 Squyres Road
Suite 106
Spring, Texas 77379
866.557.8660 Ext. 215
281.251.5733 Fax
information@valleyprovidernetwork.com
Website:
www.valleyprovidernetwork.com
March 2007
The Covenant, one of the fastest growing national preferred provider organization (PPO) networks, is pleased to announce an addition to our network. LifeTrac Network is a nationally known Transplant Network contracting with over 55 Transplant Centers and providing access to over 360 credential programs. "We believe good medical outcomes lead to good financial outcomes for our clients" stated Michael Miller, Ph.D., Executive Vice President of The Covenant. LifeTrac's contracting focus promotes cost predictability and an overall aggregate savings. "We believe this relationship will be an enhancement to our network with significant cost containment advantages for our clients", said Miller.
The LifeTrac Network is a national network of more than 55 of the world's leading transplant facilities that perform solid organ and bone marrow transplants, and the only network of its kind accredited by JCAHO.
January 2007
The Covenant Announces National Radiology Agreement with AllRad Direct
The Covenant, one of the nation's fastest growing PPO network announced the expansion of its national network with the finalization of a radiology agreement with AllRad Direct, one of the leading national diagnostic services companies. "AllRad is excited to be chosen by The Covenant as a national diagnostic imaging partner", said Karin Ajmani, President and CEO of AllRad Direct. "This relationship will broaden AllRad Direct's national presence, while providing The Covenant with superior services and savings."
This national diagnostic network contracts with employers, payors, PPOs and health management organizations to provide workers' compensation and general health imaging services. AllRad Direct will provide greater patient satisfaction and cost savings. "AllRad Direct is a recognized leader in providing cost-effective and high quality diagnostic services. The addition of their providers in our network will result in significant savings for our clients and their members," said Mark Derr, Chief Operating Officer of The Covenant Companies.
About The Covenant:
The Covenant is now one of the fastest-growing Networks in the country, encompassing more than 1,829,146 unique physician and clinic locations and 321,609 facilities and ancillaries in 50 states and The District of Columbia. This geographic presence assures market dominance and discounting of a regional network. It is a national network with regional characteristics of proficiency. The Covenant serves self-funded employer groups, third party administrators, insurance and reinsurance carriers, HMOs, and various managed care companies. The Covenant also offers medical bill audit, disease management, utilization review, case management, independent medical review and claims arbitration services.
For more information about The Covenant, please contact:
Mark Derr, Chief Operating Officer
866.557.8660 Ext. 118
Baptist sells Initial Group Health system's insurance arm purchased by Nashville company
January 2006 - KNOXVILLE , Tenn-Baptist Health System of East Tennessee has sold its insurance arm, The Initial Group, to a Houston and Nashville healthcare company, ending a strategy to administer medicine and insurance to area residents.
Regional Healthcare Holdings LLC, A Covenant Company purchased Baptist's managed care company and will move the corporate offices to Houston, Baptist announced Thursday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The sale will allow the health system to focus on its "core business, delivering the highest possible care possible," Steve Clapp, senior vice president of business development for Baptist, said in a statement.
"The Initial Group has provided excellent managed care services to the community for several years. We are excited about its future and the opportunity it has to continue to grow under new ownership," Clapp said.
The Initial Group is a health-care network consisting of 68 hospitals and facilities and more than 4,500 physicians. It has been in operation for more than 13 years, providing health-care services to employers and employees throughout East Tennessee.
The network covers 114,960 employees in Tennessee and 29,417 in Knoxville and is the eighth-largest preferred provider organization serving the region, based on statewide enrollment.
Michael Miller, Ph.D. with Regional Healthcare Holdings has been named the new president and chief operating officer of The Initial Group. Richard Cochran will serve as Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer.
Hospitals within Baptist Health System, including East Tennessee Baptist Hospital, Baptist Hospital West, Baptist Hospital for Women and its affiliates will remain in the network and will continue to provide health-care services to The Initial Group.
"The company is interested in working with existing hospital-owned PPOs to enhance their product, their network and their technology," said Carl Papp, CLU, Chairman/CEO of Regional Healthcare Holdings, which was formed in 2005 to identify and acquire smaller, regional PPOs.
Papp said his company saw Baptist as an opportunity because it is well-branded and well-known.
"We know there is competition. That's fine," Papp said.
While the corporate office will move to Nashville, there will be a continued presence in Knoxville and East Tennessee.
Seven employees were laid off as a result of the sale but one has taken a position within Baptist.
Baptist became the sole owner of The Initial Group in September 2000. It had owned 40 percent of the PPO for four years until it purchased the remaining share from St. Mary's Health System, which had joined Cariten Healthcare Network, owned by Covenant Health. Knoxville-based Cariten is a major competitor of The Initial Group.
The Initial Group was founded in 1991 as Signature Health Alliance of East Tennessee, which was owned by St. Mary's and the University of Tennessee Medical Center.
The Initial Group, Inc. exists to provide cost-effective, high-quality healthcare services, products and networks that exceed customer expectations. For more information regarding products and services offered by The Initial Group, Inc. please visit our web site at
www.initialgroup.com or
www.thecovenantcompanies.com.
For additional Information regarding The Initial Group, Inc., or Regional Healthcare Holdings, please contact Corporate Communications at The Covenant at 866.557.8660.
January 2005
The Covenant acquires Arete USA, LLC a healthcare technology company domiciled in Scottsdale Arizona. The acquisition enables The Covenant to respond immediately to the global technology requirements of our clients said Rick Cochran, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
Arete provides The Covenant with a host of products and services that respond to our clients which consist of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies, Preferred Provider Organizations [PPO], Third Party Administrators [TPA] and Self-Insured Employer Groups-services such as an Internet Repricing Engine, HIPPO, which is HIPPA compliant and is EDI enabled.
Arete presently employs 12 full-time employees consisting of system engineers, programmers and data analysts. For additional information, please visit our website at
www.areteusa.com.
