EmblemHealth News

As 2008 begins, we at GHI want to let you know about progress being made toward our integration with HIP under the new corporate identity of EmblemHealth, Inc. Much is happening behind the scenes in terms of analyzing the ways the two organizations do business, with the goal of achieving synergies and maximizing productivity. While the integration process will remain unseen by our customers, its final results will be apparent to you as we apply the enhanced resources of this new, dynamic company to provide you and your group members benefits plans and services that meet and exceed your needs.

We also are continuing to work towards the conversion of EmblemHealth to a for-profit company. We recently notified you about public hearings addressing our for-profit conversion, which have been scheduled for late January 2008. We will continue to update you on the progress of the conversion process.

New GHI Programs and Services

GHI recognizes that our role is much larger than making health care services available to your members—we also have a responsibility to help make sure they have the knowledge and support that will help them to remain healthy and to manage their own health regimen should they become ill. We continue to make available to our customers disease management programs designed to provide guidance for members and their providers that will help maximize the effectiveness and outcomes of treatment for a wide range of chronic diseases. A new program designed to help control claim costs, the High-Cost Surgery Claims Review program, is scheduled to be implemented for experience-rated groups by summer 2008. The program will review the physician component of high-dollar surgeries to ensure that payments precisely match the services rendered. We are also making available to experience-rated groups the myGHI for Groups Web portal, a leading-edge tool that will enable your organization’s staff to perform many essential administrative tasks quickly and easily online. For more information about these and other new programs available to your group, please contact your GHI Account Executive.

Finally, I would also like to take this time to wish on behalf of all of us at GHI that you and your family enjoy a safe, happy, and healthy 2008.