2002 AstraZeneca-NMHCC Partnership Awards Recognize Improved Quality, Access, and Cost Savings in Managed Care; Celebrating A Decade of Health Care Innovation.

Business Editors and Health/Medical Writers

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BW HealthWire)--March 26, 2002

From the East Coast to the Midwest to the most remote villages in Alaska, award-winning health care groups are working together to improve access and quality of care while reducing costs, as much as $11 million per year in the case of one partnership. The AstraZeneca--NMHCC Partnership Awards honor programs that best achieve these objectives. The awards honor organizations that have improved delivery to all segments of the American population, including Native Americans, children, and military personnel.

AstraZeneca and National Managed Health Care Congress (NMHCC) today announced the awards in three categories: partnerships between health plans and employers; partnerships between health plans and physician groups; and partnerships between military facilities and teaching hospitals/integrated delivery systems. Marking their 10th anniversary, the awards will be presented at the 14th Annual National Managed Health Care Congress in Baltimore on April 16.

The winners for each category are as follows

--  Partnerships Between Health Plans and Employers
        National Business Coalition on Health's V8 Group

--  Partnerships Between Health Plans and Physician Groups
        Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Missouri (a WellPoint company)

--  Partnerships Between Military Facilities and Teaching Hospitals/
     Integrated Delivery Systems
        Alaska Federal Health Care Partnership

       Honorable Mention:
        Wright-Patterson Medical Center

National Business Coalition on Health's V8 Group helps employers purchase health care services measuring evidence-based quality-vs-bottom line results through the first national, standardized Request for Information process. Missouri has seen the benefits of dispelled myths on managed care and improved relations between Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Missouri (a WellPoint company) and physicians as a result of these programs. Anchoring down health care in sparsely-populated Alaska is now easier due to the state's efforts to improve access; the net impact of this collaboration is estimated at $10,993,185. The Wright-Patterson Medical Center has improved the quality of health care for civilians and military personnel in Dayton, OH, while providing a unique rotational experience for physicians between an air force base and a children's hospital. (A fact sheet is available on each winning program.)

"The 2002 winners exemplify a diverse array of programs and partnerships among stakeholders across the country that continue to shape our health care system," said Julie Brown, president, NMHCC. "Managed care often gets criticized as not focusing enough on patient care. It's encouraging to be part of a program that positively recognizes managed care programs that help drive quality, while allocating resources more cost-effectively."

"Some of these programs are the best kept secrets in managed care," said Ken McDonough, MD, medical director, Managed Care, AstraZeneca. "We've seen everything from physicians working hand-in-hand with a managed care plan in Missouri to Native Americans receiving treatment in remote villages in Alaska. This range of partnerships speaks to the positive outcomes of managed care, which exceed both the public's perception and national expectations for health care cost savings."

An awards presentation will kick off the keynote session on Tuesday, April 16, at 8:00 a.m. at the Baltimore Convention Center. Congressman Pete Stark, (D-Calif.), Congressman Tom Allen, (D-Maine), and Honorable Christopher S. Bond, (R-Mo.) will deliver the address, "The Regulatory Review: The State of the Health Care System Address." Award winners will also be available for interviews during the conference.

Based in Waltham, MA, the National Managed Health Care Congress (NMHCC) serves as a knowledge source for the triad of health decisionmakers--purchasers, payors and providers--and seeks to increase the quality and cost-effectiveness of health care delivery through the identification and communication of new ideas, best practices and innovative clinical and management solutions. Since 1989, NMHCC has served tens of thousands of health professionals through quality, timely, educational programs, and serves as the conduit to innovative vendors and suppliers developing solutions to the industry. For more information about NMHCC, please visit www.nmhcc.org

AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) is a major international health care business engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of ethical (prescription) pharmaceuticals and the supply of health care services. It is one of the top five pharmaceutical companies in the world with health care sales of over $16.4 billion and leading positions in sales of gastrointestinal, oncology, anesthesia (including pain management), cardiovascular, central nervous system (CNS) and respiratory products. In the United States, AstraZeneca is an $8.7 billion health care business with more than 10,000 employees. For more information about AstraZeneca please visit www.astrazeneca-us.com