HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance President and CEO Appointed
Member of Health Care Cost Containment Council
HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 29 /PRNewswire/ --
Francis S. Soistman, Jr.,
HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance president and CEO, has been appointed to the
Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council. Mr. Soistman joins a
21-member council providing direction for the state agency charged with
addressing growing health care costs. He was appointed by Governor Edward G.
Rendell.
"It's an honor to be appointed by Governor Rendell as a member of the council,"
said Mr. Soistman. "HealthAmerica has a long-standing reputation for being
dedicated to effective medical cost management. As the CEO of one of the
largest health insurance companies based in Pennsylvania, I see firsthand the
many cost drivers that are compromising our ability to provide citizens of the
Commonwealth access to affordable health insurance coverage. Serving on the
council provides HealthAmerica the opportunity to represent the health
insurance industry in sharing perspective and offering potential solutions to
the rising cost of health care."
The Health Care Cost Containment Council is an independent state agency formed
in 1986 under Pennsylvania statute to address rapidly growing health care
costs. The council's strategy to contain costs is twofold. First, it aims to
stimulate competition in the health care market by giving comparative
information about the most efficient and effective health care providers to
individual consumers and group purchasers of health services. And second, it
strives to provide information to health care providers that they can use to
identify opportunities to contain costs and improve the quality of care they
deliver. The council consists of representatives coming from the business
community, organized labor and state health insurers, plus health care
professionals, consumers and leaders from various state agencies.
About HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance
HealthAmerica Pennsylvania, Inc., has a 29-year record in managed care.
HealthAmerica, HealthAssurance Pennsylvania, Inc., and affiliate companies
cover over 730,000 members in Pennsylvania and Ohio through HMO, POS, PPO,
Medicaid, and MedicareAdvantage plans. In addition, HealthAmerica earned an
"Excellent" Accreditation for its HMO plan and HealthAssurance earned an
"Excellent" Accreditation for the HealthAssurance POS by the National Committee
for Quality Assurance, an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to
measuring the quality of America's health care. With corporate offices in
Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance
provide managed health care products and services to over 11,000 employers in
Pennsylvania and Ohio. HealthAmerica and its affiliates employ over 1,500
people in Pennsylvania. For more information, visit HealthAmerica's website at
http://www.healthamerica.cvty.com/ .
DATASOURCE: HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance
CONTACT: Kendall Marcocci, Director of Communications of HealthAmerica
and HealthAssurance, +1-717-540-6746, or
Web site: http://www.healthamerica.cvty.com/