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TIGroup Announces Agreement With ESSENCE Healthcare to Provide Unique Health Plans for Medicare Patients

Posted on: Monday, 30 June 2008, 18:03 CDT

Tri-Isthmus Group, Inc. (TIGroup) (Pink Sheets:TISG) today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, TIG Financial Solutions, LLC, a provider of insurance services for physicians and patients, has entered into an exclusive agreement with ESSENCE Healthcare (ESSENCE) to provide Medicare Advantage plans in Oklahoma. TIG Financial Solutions previously applied to become a Medicare Advantage plan provider and anticipates receiving a determination in September 2008.

ESSENCE's Medicare Advantage plans eliminate the traditionally adversarial relationship between physicians and payers. Benefits are designed and directed by local physicians in each plan's community. Doctors are given the flexibility to make the most appropriate care decisions and are rewarded for investing in their patients' long term health.

Medicare Advantage plans are administered by private insurers and offer more benefits than traditional Medicare, such as vision, hearing and dental coverage, despite having lower premiums and out-of-pocket costs. For each patient who enrolls in a Medicare Advantage plan, Medicare pays the provider a set amount every month with the program functioning very much like a physician-owned HMO.

TIGroup Chairman and CEO David Hirschhorn said, "ESSENCE has the potential to become a key partner as our Financial Solutions subsidiary seeks approval to become a Medicare Advantage plan provider. Like TIGroup, ESSENCE is committed to providing superior services that benefit patient and physician while enabling the physician to spend more time providing higher quality care. We estimate that approximately 8.2 million elderly and disabled people now receive their health benefits through Medicare Advantage plans, and we expect enrollment to continue to increase rapidly. By teaming with ESSENCE in Oklahoma and using our Medicare-certified facilities, we believe we can further improve the quality of medical care in each of our communities with an innovative total healthcare solution."

Debra Gribble, President of ESSENCE, said, "It is difficult for physicians to deliver the best possible patient care when they are financially stressed, struggling with time famine and overloaded with information and administrative hassles from payers. Because they are involved in the design, direction and management of ESSENCE health plans, doctors are best able to meet the unique needs of the Medicare beneficiaries in their local communities. TIGroup shares our commitment to improving the ways in which healthcare is accessed, delivered, measured, improved and reimbursed. Our confidence in the company's strategy and management is evident in the exclusivity of our agreement, and we hope to further expand our relationship throughout the region."

About ESSENCE

ESSENCE is improving the ways in which healthcare is accessed, delivered, measured, improved and reimbursed. The company's innovative Medicare Advantage insurance model eliminates the traditionally adversarial relationship between physicians and patients. With ESSENCE, health plan benefits are designed and directed by local physicians in each plan's community. Doctors are given the flexibility to make the most appropriate care decisions for their patients and rewarded for investing in their patients' long term health. For more information, visit http://www.essencecorp.com.

About Tri-Isthmus Group, Inc.

Tri-Isthmus Group, Inc. (TIGroup) is a financial solutions provider focused on healthcare services operations designed to deliver quality healthcare outside of traditional urban hospital settings. The company is building a portfolio of interests in ambulatory surgical centers, rural hospitals, surgical hospitals and other centers operating in partnership with physicians. TIGroup's wholly owned subsidiary TIG Financial Solutions LLC provides insurance services for physicians and patients. For more information, visit http://www.tig3.com.

A profile for investors can be accessed at http://www.hawkassociates.com/profile/tisg.cfm. For investor relations information, contact Cale Smith or Julie Marshall, Hawk Associates, at 305-451-1888, e-mail: tigroup@hawkassociates.com. An online investor kit including press releases, current price quotes, stock charts and other valuable information for investors may be found at http://www.hawkassociates.com and http://www.americanmicrocaps.com. To receive free e-mail notification of future releases for TIGroup, sign up at http://www.hawkassociates.com/about/alert/.

Safe-Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), including all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the company, its directors or its officers with respect to, among other things: (i) the company's financing plans; (ii) trends affecting the company's financial condition or results of operations; (iii) the company's growth strategy and operating strategy; and (iv) the declaration and payment of dividends. The words "may,""would,""will,""expect,""estimate,""anticipate,""believe,""intend" and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's ability to control, and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors including the risk disclosed in the company's Forms 10-K and 10-Q filed with the SEC.

Source: Business Wire

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