Preferred Therapy Providers to Participate Nationally in the Private Healthcare Systems PPO Network.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 7, 2003

Preferred Therapy Providers, Inc. (Preferred) today announced that it has extended its relationship with Private Healthcare Systems, Inc. (PHCS), the nation's leading health care cost management company. Preferred will now serve as a national provider in the PHCS Network, offering access to outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapy clinics across the country.

As a PHCS national provider, Preferred serves as a liaison for the negotiation, execution and implementation of contractual relationships between its group of private practice rehabilitation clinics and Private Healthcare Systems. Preferred has been a member of the PHCS Network on a regional basis since 1994, providing enrollees with convenient access to rehabilitation providers in Arkansas, Arizona, California Connecticut, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. With this announcement, the PHCS Network will now include more than 800 Preferred clinics in 34 states across the country.

"From the beginning of our association with PHCS nine years ago, they have consistently demonstrated their commitment to quality of care and have stressed the importance of strong relationships with quality providers", states Jaxene Hillebert, President of Preferred. "We are excited to expand our regional agreement into a national relationship."

"We are very pleased that Preferred is now a national provider in the PHCS Network," said Russ Moran, Vice President, Networks. "By leveraging Preferred's multi-state presence, we enhance our ability to deliver significant savings and a quality network to our customers."

Preferred Therapy Providers and Private Healthcare Systems are both members of the American Association of Preferred Provider Organizations (AAPPO). Representatives from both companies hold national and regional AAPPO Board / Committee positions.

About Preferred: Preferred Therapy Providers is based out of Arizona, and was founded in 1992 by Jaxene Hillebert. Preferred is the largest centrally managed contracting and marketing resource for private practice rehabilitation clinics in the United States. Preferred's Messenger Model structure allows flexibility in contracting between private practitioners and various managed care organizations. Preferred assumes responsibility for primary source verification of all practitioner elements required by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), reducing time, cost, and paperwork for both PPO and provider.

About PHCS: For 17 years, Private Healthcare Systems has been meeting the network and medical Management needs of customers across the country. Corporate headquarters are in Waltham, Massachusetts, with regional offices located throughout the United States. The largest proprietary PPO network in the country, the PHCS Provider Network includes nearly 383,000 providers and more than 3,600 facilities. PHCS is the only PPO that has earned multiple endorsements from both leading national health care quality organizations, NCQA and URAC.

PHCS delegates the credentialing function to medical groups that meet its standards, based on NCQA guidelines. Groups performing their own credentialing functions are audited and evaluated annually by PHCS.