Horizon Press Release 1/4/2006

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield Of New Jersey Asks Medicare Members To Bring New Prescription Plan Documentation To Pharmacies To Ease Problems
(Newark, NJ, January 4, 2006) – Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Horizon BCBSNJ) is asking its Medicare members who have signed up for the new federal prescription drug plan and have not received their membership card to bring the letter from Horizon BCBSNJ acknowledging their enrollment with them to their pharmacist when filling a prescription. Pharmacists will be able to fill Horizon BCBSNJ Medicare members’ prescriptions without calling to confirm their coverage.
Horizon BCBSNJ, the state’s oldest and largest health insurer, has received over 132,000 applications from individuals seeking to enroll in Medicare’s new prescription drug plan. The new drug benefit went into effect on Sunday, January 1, 2006.
“To avoid any difficulties in having prescriptions filled, we are asking all of our Medicare members who have enrolled in the new prescription drug plan and do not have their membership card yet to bring the letter we sent them acknowledging their enrollment to their pharmacist when trying to fill a prescription,” said Robert Meehan, vice president of consumer and commercial markets at Horizon BCBSNJ.
Horizon BCBSNJ is planning to run newspaper advertisements, putting a special message on their phone lines and Web site to assist Medicare members.

Oxford Press Release 11-16-2005

Unitedhealthcare and Oxford Health Plans Team with New York Presbyterian Healthcare System Hospitals to Improve Patient OutcomesNEW YORK, N.Y. (November 16, 2005) - Oxford Health Plans, LLC, A UnitedHealthcare Company, and New York Presbyterian Healthcare System (NYPHS) today announced a new care management program for select UnitedHealthcare and Oxford members who have coronary artery disease (CAD), congestive heart failure (CHF) or diabetes, or have had strokes. "By coordinating care more extensively among the health plan, the patient, the primary care physician, the specialist and the hospital, we hope to help our members achieve a better quality of life. This new program is designed to work with physicians and to complement the care that they provide while actively engaging the patient in the process." said Alan Muney, M.D., chief medical officer of Oxford Health Plans. Eligible members will receive educational outreach and materials prior to their discharge from the hospital; will be assisted in enrolling in a direct mail-order pharmacy program and receive a week's worth of their prescription drugs after discharge; will have an opportunity to obtain referrals to appropriate specialists, particularly if there have been no recent visits; and will receive follow-up communications from staff at UnitedHealthcare, Oxford and NYPHS hospitals. The program was developed based on standards established by the American Heart Association and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Data from a recent Cardiovascular Hospital Artherosclerosis Management Program study suggests that individuals with heart conditions who receive formal teaching about their conditions at the time of discharge do 50 percent better than those who received little or no education. UnitedHealthcare and Oxford will be coordinating care for more than 3,000 eligible members beginning this month in conjunction with the following NYPHS hospitals: The New York and Presbyterian Hospital, New York Community Hospital of Brooklyn, New York Methodist Hospital, Nyack Hospital, Palisades Medical Center, The Brooklyn Hospital Center, The New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens, Westchester Square Medical Center and Wyckoff Heights Medical Center. About Oxford Health Plans, LLCFounded in 1984, Oxford Health Plans, LLC, A UnitedHealthcare Company, provides health plans to employers and individuals primarily in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, through its direct sales force, independent insurance agents and brokers. Oxford's commercial insured products and services include traditional health maintenance organizations, point-of-service plans and consumer-driven health plans. The company also offers Medicare Advantage plans and third-party administration of employer-funded benefits plans. Oxford completed its merger with UnitedHealth Group in July 2004.