NEWS
RELEASE
Health Care Payers Coalition of New
Jersey Contracts with
Group Health Incorporated of New York
(Note: Access to the GHI
network is made on a plan specific basis. Employees and union
members should check with their plan administrator to determine if their
plan accesses GHI in NY.)
Edison, NJ, July 21, 2004… The Health Care Payers
Coalition of New Jersey (HCPC) today announced the creation of a
Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) relationship with Group Health
Incorporated of New York (GHI).
The arrangement
allows both organizations to access each other’s networks for a
nominal access fee. New Jersey-based HCPC and New York City-based GHI,
under its Network Access product, contract with numerous
self-administered healthcare clients who administer their own claims or
provide healthcare services through a third party administrator. These
HCPC clients will now be able to access providers in New York using
GHI’s Network Access network. In turn, GHI’s clients who are
self-administered or utilize a Third Party Administrator (TPA) will also
be able to access providers in New Jersey using HCPC’s network.
HCPC and GHI, both
non-profit organizations, bring their clients a high level of expertise
in negotiating with networks of health care providers for lower
hospitalization and medical fees.
The most important reason
for the establishment of the PPO network relationship, according to HCPC
Executive Director Edward Geisler is “the cross-Hudson factor.
“Tens of thousands
of men and women work in New York and live here in New Jersey,” he
said. “Naturally, there
are equal numbers of people who work in the Garden State and commute
back to New York. People take advantage of the freedom to choose
hospitals in both states, and both HCPC and GHI want to provide a leased
network solution for hospital and medical provider access in one
package.
“The combination
of these two powerful managed care organizations provides business and
labor with new opportunities to control health care costs,” Mr.
Geisler continued. “This relationship comes at a time when health care
costs are severely hurting New York and New Jersey businesses. The
savings that HCPC and GHI are developing will provide health care
brokers and consultants with positive alternatives when restructuring
client health care programs.”
David Henderson,
Chief Marketing Officer for GHI said, “The strength of HCPC in New
Jersey, combined with that of GHI in New York, offers an
administratively simple and financially attractive solution for
employers, who are self-administered or using a TPA, on both sides of
the Hudson. We are not only sharing our networks, but are also sharing
our systems. Our intent is to make the process seamless for the claim
administrator.”
Both Mr. Geisler and
Mr. Henderson agree that third party claim administrators and
self-administered plan sponsors “will especially appreciate the
convenience this unified approach offers.”
The method of
obtaining fee quotations and related information will remain unchanged
for both organizations. Additional information can be found on HCPC’s
website.
The Health Care Payers Coalition of New Jersey is a health
care purchasing cooperative for self-insured health plans that cover
more than 150,000 New Jerseyans. Founded in 1992, HCPC promotes health care quality and
emphasizes the empowerment of health care consumers by providing them
with important information and education.
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