|
INDUSTRY LEADERS UNUMPROVIDENT, MATRIA HEALTHCARE
LAUNCH DISEASE MANAGEMENT PARTNERSHIP
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., June 12, 2006 UnumProvident (NYSE: UNM)
today announced it has joined with Matria Healthcare (NASDAQ: MATR) to create a
new disability and disease management partnership aimed at helping employers
combat rising healthcare costs and improve workforce productivity.
"UnumProvident's partnership with Matria is significant as it brings together
the expertise of the industry's leading disability carrier and disease
management provider to create a valuable service that helps our customers
respond more effectively to health and productivity issues," says UnumProvident
President and CEO Thomas R. Watjen.
Under the new alliance, UnumProvident will link its disability claims management
expertise with Matria's innovative disease management programs to better
supplement and manage the care of employees with chronic or high-cost health
conditions. In addition to the direct healthcare costs attributed to employees
with chronic conditions, the indirect costs to employers of absenteeism and
decreased productivity are significant.
"Employers are moving beyond traditional and largely unsuccessful methods of
trying to control spiraling healthcare costs in favor of condition or disease
management, which addresses both costs and employee productivity," says Kevin
McCarthy, executive vice president of risk operations for UnumProvident. "In
response to their changing needs, we have created an objective approach that
can help employers see and manage the full spectrum of cost drivers for
disability and medical. Not only can we then respond to employers' specific
needs, but ultimately we can impact employee health and productivity."
For employers, the results hit directly at the bottom line, as the Centers for
Disease Control reports that chronic health conditions generate 70 percent of
healthcare costs in the United States today. And previous research from
UnumProvident revealed that the majority of employee medical costs in any given
year are generated by the 10 percent of the workforce that is on disability.
"The success of Matria's disease management programs rests in the ability to
identify and communicate with employees with these chronic or high-cost medical
conditions," says Parker H. Petit, chairman and chief executive officer of
Matria Healthcare. "The partnership with UnumProvident strengthens our link to
the portion of the employee population who can no longer work due to illness
precisely the population who will benefit most from our services.
"Trying to self-manage a chronic healthcare condition can be overwhelming.
Employees may not understand the proper use of their medications or they may be
unaware of symptoms that could signal a need for help," Petit continues.
"Through one-on-one education or consultation, the employee can learn to reduce
the need for prescriptions, emergency room visits and hospitalization."
The UnumProvident-Matria offering is available initially to new or existing
UnumProvident customers with at least 5,000 employees enrolled in group
short-term disability benefit programs.
###
|