Intracorp Introduces New Services To Help California Businesses Cut Their Workers' Compensation Costs

New programs provides California employers with tools and opportunities to reduce rising medical costs

Anaheim, CA, December 16, 2003 - As the nation continues to grapple with rising medical costs contributing to increasing workers' compensation rates, nowhere are the problems more debilitating than in California. Consider for example, workers' compensation medical expenses in California are the highest in the nation. In addition, injured workers in California see chiropractors more than twice as much per claim as workers in other states, according to a 2002 study by the Workers' Compensation Research Institute. While recently passed legislation promises some relief for California employers and is one of the top priorities of Governor Schwarzenegger, businesses are seeking additional ways to better manage their escalating workers' compensation costs. Addressing this need, Intracorp, a leading provider of workers' compensation and disability management services, recently introduced several cost containment initiatives that offer employers a variety of opportunities to reduce their medical expenses.

New services offered by Intracorp, which serves nearly 2 million workers in California and 12.5 million nationally, include:

• Expanded California Provider Network - Intracorp recently signed an agreement with Health Net Plus, a recognized leader in workers' compensation managed care, giving employers and claims payors broader access to quality care and specialists, deeper discounts and improved direction of employees to more cost-effective providers for workers' compensation care. With the addition of Health Net Plus, Intracorp now offers its customers access to more than 700,000 network providers nationally, and nearly 300,000 in California.

  "As medical costs and workers' compensation premiums continue to rise, a strong network portfolio is an essential element of an effective cost containment and medical management program," explains Ken Ross, senior vice president, Disability Management, Intracorp. "Due to the expansion of our provider networks, the use of in-network providers in our programs by workers has increased by 10 to 15 percent. As a result, nationwide savings by employers on medical costs have increased 15 to 20 percent."

• California Health Care Organization (HCO) - Last fall, the California Department of Industrial Relations' Division of Workers' Compensation certified Intracorp's health care organization (HCO) to provide medical networks for workers injured on the job. Intracorp's California HCO includes a network of best-in-class occupational physicians and hospitals that work with medical and vocational specialists to provide optimal medical care and facilitate the return-to-work process.

  "California employers who have contracted with Intracorp's HCO in the past year have already seen positive results, such as improved network utilization of 20 to 40 percent, and medical savings of 10 to 15 percent," says Ross. The combined power of these services offers employers in California the opportunity to make a significant improvement to their bottom line through aggressive cost-savings techniques," adds Ross.

• New California Outpatient Care Services - Through its partnership with Health Net Plus, Intracorp now offers customers Qmedtrix, a cost containment product designed to help employers and payors realize additional savings on the processing and payment of outpatient facility services, which are not covered by fee schedules.

  "We are closely monitoring the emerging legislation in California related to outpatient fee schedules. We will leverage Qmedtrix, which has already shown customer savings of 75 to 80 percent, along with Intracorp's AccuMed bill review product to provide customers with a comprehensive way to control their overall medical costs," says Ross. "In addition, Intracorp's extensive utilization review expertise will help employers maintain compliance with new legislation that increases employer's utilization review responsibilities."

Philadelphia-based Intracorp, with more than 4,000 employees, provides health and disability care management services to 27 million consumers throughout the United States. Intracorp's telephonic and onsite case management services provide solutions for employer-sponsored health care, workers' compensation and disability insurance programs. Intracorp also offers disease management, utilization management, return-to-work programs, ergonomic consulting, provider bill review and provider network access. For more information, visit Intracorp's Web site at: http://www.intracorp.com.