Care 24, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Ohio team up to deliver workers' compensation managed care; Ohio's largest workers' compensation administrators and largest health insurer to serve $1.7 billion market.

DUBLIN, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 11, 1996--Care 24, a new Columbus-based workers' compensation managed care organization formed by The Frank Gates Service Company and Compensation Consultants, Inc. (CCI), has teamed up with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Ohio (BCBSO) to provide workers' compensation managed care services for the $1.7 billion workers' compensation market in Ohio, they announced today.

Through an exclusive service agreement, Care 24, formed by Gates and CCI, two of the largest administrators of workers' compensation claims in Ohio, representing more than 25,000 employers and 95 years of experience, will work with BCBSO, the state's oldest and largest health insurer, covering 1.5 million Ohioans.

BCBSO, through its Super Blue Network of more than 170 hospitals and more than 7,200 physicians throughout Ohio, will become the exclusive provider for Care 24's workers' compensation clients. Additionally, BCBSO will provide information technology resources and utilization review services to the new enterprise. This will enable Care 24 to offer employers a network that incorporates injury management units to provide efficient and effective treatment that translates to better care at lower cost.

The combined strength of these prominent workers' compensation administration firms, supplemented by their agreement with the BCBSO healthcare provider networks, establishes Care 24 as potentially the largest and most experienced provider of managed care services for workers' compensation cases in the state.

In July 1993, Ohio House Bill 107 (H.B. 107) was passed, mandating managed care for workers' compensation in Ohio. With this agreement, Care 24 is positioned to provide services to the Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) state-fund clients throughout Ohio when H.B. 107 is fully implemented. Care 24 will initially offer services to Ohio self-insured employers beginning in late-July 1996.

John Burry, Jr., BCBSO Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said, "We view this agreement as a natural evolution for Blue Cross. The market has been moving toward managed care and our Super Blue products have helped thousands of companies statewide to control costs. Looking ahead to the implementation of Ohio's legislative changes, we wanted to be aligned with the market leaders."

"The workers' compensation market segment can benefit from the same advantages as the insured market. This system will be good for employees, good for employers and good for Ohio -- making the state an attractive place for employers to locate," Burry added.

"Frank Gates and CCI have saved Ohio employers nearly $1 billion in workers' compensation costs over the past decade," noted Niles C. Overly, Chief Executive Officer of The Frank Gates Service Company. "Since Ohio's General Assembly mandated managed care for our workers' compensation system, future savings could easily double."

Richard T. Alkire, president of CCI added, "Workers' compensation care differs in oversight, management systems and rehabilitation processes from traditional healthcare. As a result, we expect other third party administrators of workers' compensation claims to utilize the services of Care 24 for their clients as well."

Frank Gates is the largest workers' compensation administrator in Ohio representing over 15,000 employers. The fifty-year-old company represents major Ohio employers including Honda of America, TRW and Timken. With over 30 offices across the country, Frank Gates has Ohio offices in Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Dublin, Toledo and Youngstown.

Compensation Consultants, with forty-five years' experience, represents over 10,000 employers in Ohio including J.C. Penny, Johnson Controls and ALCO Standard. The company has Ohio offices in Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo, and Youngstown.

BCBSO, the state's oldest and largest health insurer, has annual revenues of approximately $2 billion and has been one of the best among Blue Cross Plans in the nation in efficiency of claims processing and customer service. During the past five years, its cost of doing business has been among the lowest of Ohio's major health insurers, according to reports on file with the Ohio Department of Insurance.

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CONTACT: Care 24:

Meta Marketing

Mark Lacker, 513/531-6382, [e-mail]

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Blue Cross:

William Silverman & Company

Barbara Schoonover, 216/696-7750