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APS' Wyoming Health Management Program Awarded Best Government DM Program By Disease Management Association of America

Posted on: Wednesday, 19 October 2005, 15:01 CDT

APS Healthcare--one of the nation's leading specialty health care management organizations--today announced that it's Wyoming EqualityCare (Medicaid) Health Management program, Healthy Together(SM), has received the Disease Management Association of America's (DMAA) Recognizing Excellence Award for Best Government DM Program. The DMAA Excellence Awards, which were announced Monday night at the DMAA's Annual Leadership Forum Banquet, were established to recognize best practices and DM community leaders who positively enhance overall DM for the betterment of those with chronic conditions.

APS received the Best Government DM Program for demonstrating excellence in the design, development, implementation and operation of a DM program resulting in favorable outcomes. According to Gerald Kiplinger, APS' Executive Director of the Wyoming program, Healthy Together is supporting more than 8,000 chronically ill EqualityCare clients with disease management services and is conducting wide-spread wellness and prevention initiatives for the entire Wyoming Medicaid population, an average of 55,000 clients per month.

"Healthy Together contributed to the State of Wyoming avoiding more than $15 million in state and federal costs in the first six months of 2005," explained Kiplinger. "The program also demonstrated an 11 percent decrease in emergency room visits."

"The Wyoming Health Management program was selected for its innovativeness and commitment to serving an entire Medicaid plan membership, not just a select group of recipients," explains DMAA Executive Director, Tracey Moorhead. "It also demonstrated the value in helping patients change their behaviors to become more empowered and proactive about making healthy decisions. We congratulate the Wyoming Health Management program on its success."

APS has been selected to manage seven disease management programs throughout the nation, amongst them is in Georgia where APS is managing an estimated 53,000 Medicaid members within the northern region of the state, including Atlanta.

APS' recently debuted its Community Health Partnership model--which the organization has deployed in Wyoming and Georgia--to provide Health Coaches and Care Coordinators to strategically-located Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and community health systems in areas where APS provides disease management services to Medicaid recipients. Health Coaches and Care Coordinators are provided to the FQHC at no cost. Among other duties, they collect accurate data on Medicaid recipients, perform initial assessments of their health status, as well as recommend educational and community resources based on the client's individual needs.

APS has 10+ years of experience delivering a complete array of Disease Management Services which is supported by a Behavioral Health Paradigm, which makes programs more effective in changing negative health behaviors and achieving positive clinical and financial outcomes. Currently, the organization offers programs for clients with asthma; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); heart failure; coronary artery disease; hypertension; hyperlipidemia; diabetes; depression; low back pain; cancer and hemophilia, as well as a multitude of wellness programs for clients who are pregnant, obese and use tobacco.

APS is a provider of specialty healthcare solutions that cover more than 20 million members in the United States and Puerto Rico. The company's portfolio of products encompasses the full-range of healthcare services, including disease management programs, behavioral and medical management programs, employee assistance programs, work/life services, absence management, as well as physical medicine and informatics consulting. APS operates three dedicated business units: APS Public Programs, which offers a wide variety of specialty physical, disease management and behavioral health services to government clients including 20 states, the Tricare Department of Defense program and Medicaid programs that cover approximately 30% of the U.S. Medicaid population; APS Health Management Programs, which offers a wide variety of disease and medical management services to employers and health plans; and APS Commercial Behavioral Management, which serves more than 900 clients, including corporate and public sector employers and health plans. All of APS' programs combine the company's core competencies in behavioral, disease and medical management into a holistic patient-centric approach, which improves clinical outcomes and creates a superior return on investment for customers.

APS is committed to "Helping People Lead Healthier Lives(SM)" through the implementation of customized programs that meet each customer's unique needs.

Source: Business Wire

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