XLHealth's Care Improvement Plus Teams Up with Outcomes Pharmaceutical Healthcare to Improve Medication Compliance Among Chronically Ill Seniors.

New Program Offers Medication Counseling to Medicare Beneficiaries in 6 States

BALTIMORE & DES MOINES, Iowa -- Among Medicare beneficiaries, medication compliance issues lead to approximately 10 percent of total hospital admissions, 33 percent of heart failure hospital admissions, and 22 percent of all nursing home admissions. In response, XLHealth's Care Improvement Plus health plan and Outcomes Pharmaceutical Health Care[TM] have joined forces to improve medication compliance for Care Improvement Plus' approximately 22,000 chronically ill members with diabetes, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and/or end stage renal disease.

"Seniors with chronic illness have to follow complex regimens that typically involve taking six or more different medications, some which must be taken multiple times a day," said Harry Leider, MD, chief medical officer for XLHealth. "This partnership with Outcomes, which provides our members with direct face-to-face consultations with local pharmacists who make sure that patients are taking the right medications in the correct fashion, nicely complements the provider-focused medication management program we offer through Caremark. Together, the two programs seek to improve quality of care and generate savings for our members by addressing very common medication compliance and care coordination challenges faced by seniors with chronic illnesses."

Starting in June, all Care Improvement Plus members in Arkansas, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, South Carolina and Texas will be eligible to receive free medication therapy management services designed to help them achieve safe and effective results from their prescriptions. Outcomes' extensive Personal Pharmacist(TM) network has approximately 8,000 local pharmacists nationwide. Outcomes' Personal Pharmacists are available to review members' complete medication profiles to detect any potential conflicts or duplications, as well as provide one-on-one Medication Check-Ups[TM], over-the-counter consultations, drug education, compliance monitoring, and assistance with non-prescription medications. Participating pharmacists also can help lower Care Improvement Plus members' out-of-pocket costs by suggesting less expensive drugs equivalent to those they are currently taking.

"Teaming patients and their doctors with local pharmacists not only improves health care quality, it also helps to control costs," said Outcomes' CEO, Tom Halterman, adding that "an estimated $700 is saved in avoidable prescription, medical and hospital costs for each patient who receives a Medication Check-Up service."

Care Improvement Plus is a Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plan that focuses exclusively on the unique healthcare needs of chronically ill Medicare beneficiaries living with diabetes, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and/or end stage renal disease. The plan offers all Medicare covered services, a tailored Medicare Part D drug benefit, disease management services, and additional services not typically covered by Medicare.

Pharmacists or pharmacies interested in learning more about the partnership between Care Improvement Plus and Outcomes Pharmaceutical Health Care should call [phone] or visit http://www.getoutcomes.com.

About XLHealth and Care Improvement Plus

XLHealth (http://www.xlhealth.com) is one of the nation's fastest growing disease management companies and the parent company of Care Improvement Plus (http://www.careimprovementplus.com), a new chronic condition special needs plan that focuses on the unique healthcare needs of chronically ill Medicare beneficiaries. Care Improvement Plus provides Medicare Advantage health plan coverage, along with a tailored Medicare Part D drug benefit and disease management services, to Medicare beneficiaries living with heart failure, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and/or end-stage renal disease. Care Improvement Plus also provides a variety of services designed to support physicians' efforts to care for their chronically ill patients. Care Improvement Plus has received Full Accreditation for its patient and practitioner disease management programs from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

About Outcomes Pharmaceutical Health Care

Outcomes Pharmaceutical Health Care is a national leader in the design, delivery, and administration of Medication Therapy Management programs. The company's service line benefits health care purchasers by delivering a cost effective approach to advancing patient care and controlling utilization through the provision of patient-friendly, face-to-face personal pharmacist services. The company is headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa and may be found online at http:/www.getoutcomes.com.