ValueOptions® Partners with Alicare Medical Management for 24-Hour Nurse Health Information Services

Norfolk, Virginia — April 26, 2005

ValueOptions announced today that they have partnered with Alicare Medical Management to offer comprehensive medical call center services to ValueOptions clients. Services offered by the partnership arrangement will include 24-hour nurse advice line and health information services.

"By partnering with Alicare Medical Management, we are able to offer clients an additional benefit that serves as an easily-accessible education resource for consumers. By accessing these types of services, consumers are able to make sensible, informed decisions about their health care," said Chuck Taylor, executive vice president of ValueOptions' Employer Solutions Division.

Claire Levitt, president of Alicare Medical Management, adds, "This partnership offers a viable strategy to help organizations and consumers cope with escalating health care costs. By empowering patients with access to nurses and to health information, we give them the ability to identify the appropriate care and help them avoid unnecessary emergency room visits and other costly treatment."

The new partnership is another way that ValueOptions is helping members become better health care consumers. Prevention services and early intervention are combined with acute care to complement traditional disease management and result in decreased utilization, improved clinical outcomes, increased compliance by participating members, and lower costs to clients and consumers.

About Alicare Medical Management

Alicare Medical Management, an affiliate company of Amalgamated Life, offers clinically based, patient centric health care cost management programs designed to promote both cost savings and patient satisfaction. Alicare Medical Management is proud to have received accreditation from the American Accreditation Healthcare Commission/URAC for four of its programs, Health Utilization Management, 24-Hour Nurse Triage and Health Information Services, Case Management and as an Independent Review Organization. For more information, please visit www.alicaremed.com.

Download Plug-in/Application for: PDF | DOC | XLS | PPT | X-Shockwave-Flash