American Specialty Health Expands Value-Added Program by Offering Their Providers Discounts on ICE Down and ITLS Products and Services.

SAN DIEGO -- American Specialty Health (ASH), the nation's leading complementary health care organization, is pleased to announce the addition of two new vendors to its popular Value-Added Program: ICE Down, which specializes in ice-cold, flexible therapy wraps, and Information Technology Leadership & Support (ITLS), which provides professional scanning solutions and electronic data storage.

The ICE Down cold therapy system is designed to deliver cold and compression in a simple, convenient, and effective manner. Because of the various sizes offered and the ease of application, patient compliance is reported to be excellent.

In addition, ICE Down is the only product of its kind to offer a one-year warranty, said Chris Kirkman, president for ICE Down, Inc. When stored properly the cold pack and neoprene will last through continuous use for years. "This translates into significant value," said Kirkman.

ICE Down will provide ASH providers a discount of 30 percent off list prices.

ITLS is a business and technology consulting firm specializing in professional scanning solutions using premier document imaging software by Laserfiche. Many providers have expressed an interest to consolidate resources, operate more efficiently, and at the same time, keep up with technological advances.

"The ability to transfer existing clinical information and other related information not only allows providers to free up space, but also provides an opportunity to retrieve information quickly and if needed, relay the information to other appropriate health care providers," said Keith Caravelli, president of ITLS. ITLS is offering ASH providers discounts of up to 40 percent off their scanning solution packages. In addition, any single scanner purchased with an ITLS document imaging solution will be sold at cost, plus normal shipping and handling charges.

Both of these vendors offer products and services frequently used by multiple provider disciplines and offer significant savings designed to further reduce monthly expenses, as well as free up resources.

For over a year, the Value-Added Program has made available to providers contracted with ASH subsidiary, American Specialty Health Networks, Inc., significant discounts of up to 40 percent on professional malpractice insurance and other products and services.

"Our goal is to take a more active role in helping our providers lower costs and overhead," said George DeVries, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of ASH. "We are able to do this by creating alliances with companies that directly impact our providers' daily business practices."

The discounts offered by ICE Down and ITLS are only available to ASH providers by accessing www.ashlink.com--ASH's online provider site.

American Specialty Health, Incorporated is the nation's leading specialty benefits organization for complementary health care, providing fitness and wellness programs to health plans, insurance carriers, employer groups, and trust funds nationwide. Based in San Diego, ASH has more than 500 employees and administers wellness programs for more than 400,000 members and complementary health care benefit programs for more than 12.1 million members. For more information, visit ASH online at ASHCompanies.com.