Monterey Park, CA—May 1, 2013. SynerMed announced today the launch of a new store exclusively for doctors to provide group purchasing power and savings through its proprietary online STORE.

Purchasing products and services can be time-consuming for busy physicians but STORE allows physicians to shop with ease for essential products and services that they use every day at discounted rates.

“We understand the issues physicians face running a busy medical practice, while balancing overhead and minimizing costs,” said James Mason, President and Chief Executive Officer at SynerMed. “Independent traditional physicians are the cornerstone to our business and we want to bring greater value to them.”

SynerMed teamed up with leading manufacturers, suppliers and service providers to offer group purchasing power to physicians in their network. STORE is designed to offer a secure, convenient, virtual shopping experience that caters to doctors.

The company offers favorable discounts, pricing and preferred terms for products and services.

Doctors will find everything they need at STORE including vaccines, medical equipment, continuing medical education and more. The program is completely free—there are no fees and no minimum purchase is required.

STORE was developed to help physicians improve office efficiency and save time by streamlining the ordering process for products and services that are routinely used in medical practices.

“Our providers provide access to quality care and our vendors understand the populations they serve,” said David Kobrinetz, Executive Director of Physician Group Purchasing at SynerMed. “When physicians lower costs, it impacts their practice, patients and the healthcare system.”

The company intends to offer STORE to more physicians in the future. For more information about STORE visit www.synermed.com.

About SynerMed

SynerMed is a leading Medicaid Managed Services Organization (MSO) headquartered in Monterey Park, California. SynerMed is a physician-led and physician-driven organization, dedicated to innovating healthcare through an integrated system of tools and services that connects physicians, members, hospitals and health plans. Since its inception in 1995, SynerMed has been dedicated to improving access to quality care and reducing healthcare costs through state-of-the-art technology. SynerMed’s advanced technology is powered by CONNECT and its integrated suite of products: CONSULT, CHECKBOOK, SHARE, MATH, DIRECT, PLAN, STORE and COMPLEX CARE. Today, SynerMed is one of the largest Managed Services Organizations (MSO) in the United States, with a network of 10,000 providers who provide access to care for more than 700,000 members. The company’s physician-centric IPA model promotes growth and sustainability to help physicians remain independent. For more information about SynerMed, Inc., visit www.synermed.com.

Media Contact:

Corporate Communications

Juanda Calloway

T 213-406-8104

jcalloway@synermed.com

SynerMed expects the ground-breaking technology to dramatically improve the existing healthcare model by providing real-time access to claims, authorizations and member transaction data specific to each health plan.

“PLAN cuts administrative costs substantially by reducing time spent on phone calls, documentation and paperwork,” said Darren McLachlan, Vice President of Finance and IT at SynerMed. “It also creates better coordination of care and greater transparency between health plan management personnel.”

PLAN is an extension of SynerMed’s CONNECT, an interconnected virtual platform that allows physicians, members, health plans and care management staff to coordinate high-quality care, while viewing, sharing and retrieving patient records through secure HIPAA-compliant technology.

“PLAN transforms the workflow of our health plan partners by streamlining messaging technologies into workflows and improving patient, physician and health plan interactions,” said SynerMed President and Chief Executive Officer James Mason. “In the future, PLAN will expand to include audit and oversight functionality and individualized care plans for targeted populations with chronic conditions.”

Together PLAN and CONNECT serve as examples of SynerMed’s commitment to advancing Health Information Exchange (HIE) between hospitals, patients, physicians and health plans to coordinate care with better outcomes, lower costs and higher patient satisfaction.

 About SynerMed

SynerMed is a leading Medicaid Managed Services Organization (MSO) headquartered in Monterey Park, California. SynerMed is a physician-led and physician-driven organization, dedicated to innovating healthcare through an integrated system of tools and services that connects physicians, members, hospitals and health plans. Since its inception in 1995, SynerMed has been dedicated to improving access to quality care and reducing healthcare costs through state-of-the-art technology. SynerMed’s advanced technology is powered by CONNECT and its integrated suite of products: CONSULT, CHECKBOOK, SHARE, MATH, DIRECT, PLAN, STORE and COMPLEX CARE. Today, SynerMed is one of the largest Managed Services Organizations (MSO) in the United States, with a network of 10,000 providers who provide access to care for more than 700,000 members. The company’s physician-centric IPA model promotes growth and sustainability to help physicians remain independent. For more information about SynerMed, Inc., visit www.synermed.com.

Media Contact:

Corporate Communications

Juanda Calloway

T  213-406-8104

jcalloway@synermed.com

TO ADD THOUSANDS OF JOBS TO CALIFORNIA ECONOMY AND IMROVE HEALTHCARE WITH $11.8 MILLION GRANT

MONTEREY PARK, CA— February 4, 2013—SynerMed, Inc., announced today that it is partnering with the California Long-Term Care Education Center (CLTCEC) to transform IHSS education and create a care coordination model for consumers with chronic conditions.

CLTCEC was awarded an $11.8 million grant by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to institute managed care solutions and technologies to improve healthcare and lower costs for patients that have been determined high-risk.

Together SynerMed and CLTCEC will educate and train more than 9,000 IHSS providers and consumers in Los Angeles County. Emphasis will be placed on how to administer care through effective coordinated care teams to improve quality of care, patient satisfaction and lower healthcare costs by reducing hospitalizations and emergency room visits.

“This project offers California a superior healthcare delivery system that will address workforce training and shortages for growing populations, while creating a new career path for California’s workforce,” said Steve Decker, Executive Director of California Long-Term Care Education Center.

Healthcare professionals expect the project to result in $25 million in cost savings by reducing unnecessary use of emergency room visits by 23 percent, hospital readmissions by 23 percent and nursing home stays by 10 percent.

Newly trained IHSS workers will work with doctors, specialists, social workers and case managers to treat about 6,000 high-risk patients, most of whom are disabled, elderly, low-income patients with multiple chronic and complex conditions.

“We are truly excited about integrating IHSS providers into our care coordination teams,” said James Mason, President and Chief Executive Officer of SynerMed. “As a member of CLTCEC’s Innovation Grant team, we will carry out our collective vision of transforming the healthcare system to support the Accountable Care Act. A big part of that is keeping members healthy and in their homes. IHSS workers will help deliver care, implement healthy lifestyle programs, and report changes in conditions to healthcare professionals.”

SynerMed provides state-of-the-art technology through CONNECT, an integrated virtual healthcare community that will allow the high-touch teams of healthcare professionals to coordinate high quality care.

Other partners include the United Healthcare Workers West, LA Care Health Plan, Health Plan of San Mateo, the Department of Employment and Human Services, and the University of California at San Francisco’s Center for Health Professions.

About SynerMed

SynerMed is a leading Managed Services Organization (MSO) headquartered in Monterey Park, California. SynerMed is a physician-led and physician–driven organization, dedicated to innovating healthcare through an integrated system of tools and services that connects physicians, members, hospitals and health plans to coordinate care. Since its inception in 1995, SynerMed has been dedicated to improving access to quality care and reducing healthcare costs through state-of-the-art technology.  SynerMed’s advanced technology is powered by CONNECT and its integrated suite of products: CONSULT, CHECKBOOK, SHARE, MATH, DIRECT, PLAN, STORE and COMPLEX CARE. Today, SynerMed is one of the largest Managed Services Organizations (MSO) in the United States, with a network of 10,000 providers who provide access to care for more than 700,000 members. The company’s physician-centric IPA model promotes growth and sustainability to help physicians remain independent and successful under healthcare reform. For more information about SynerMed, Inc., visit www.synermed.com.

About the California Long-Term Care Education Center

Other partners include the United Healthcare Workers West, LA Care Health Plan, Health Plan of San Mateo, California’s In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Program and the University of California at San Francisco’s Center for Health Professions.

Media Contact:

Juanda Calloway

Phone: (213) 406-8104

jcalloway@synermed.com

EHS now has over 330,000 total members throughout the state of California.

The reason for EHS’ growth is attributed to the exclusive technology, competitive rates and financial leverage the medical group offers its members.

“I think we’ve come a long way,” said Dr. Imad El Asmar of IMD Medical Group about his practice’s improvement in care since he joined EHS. “As far as quality, it has gone up by a great deal. A lot of this is thanks to the managed care center.”

EHS Medical Group estimates that they will experience continued accelerated growth as California moves forward with the transition of low-income seniors and persons with disabilities who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medi-Cal from traditional fee-for-service to “integrated care delivery models,” or managed care plans, in June 2013.

Dr. El Asmar supports the transition to managed care. He believes that it will allow medical groups like EHS to improve coordinated care for patients and reduce costs for primary care physicians.

“We all have to realize that the care we’re doing right now isn’t working well,” said Dr. El Asmar. “It’s called managed care. Yeah—we need someone to manage these patients properly.”

The announcement that EHS Medical Group grew by 37 percent in 2012 comes shortly after news that the group acquired 78,000 new members in the Central Valley.

“EHS continues to grow and strengthen in each of our core markets—Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, the Central Valley and Sacramento,” said Peter Winston, Vice President of EHS Medical Group.

“We’re also focusing our efforts on the many changes occurring in California over the next two years, like the Healthy Families conversion, the rural healthcare expansion, the duals and the exchange,” Winston said. “These are all opportunities to unleash our technology and know-how to improve the health of at-risk populations. We look forward to the challenge.”

To schedule an interview with a physician at EHS Medical Group, contact Lucas Rubio at (213) 406-8136.

About EHS Medical Group

Since 1990, EHS Medical Group has been a trusted medical professional corporation and integrated healthcare delivery system focusing on government programs, including Medi-Cal/Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP, also called Healthy Families in California), Medicare and Dual-Eligibles (Medi-Medi), organized labor and specialty IPAs. Our physician-centric accountable care model promotes growth and sustainability for individual physicians by providing access to a robust offering of products, services and management tools. EHS Medical Group is managed by SynerMed, (www.synermed.com) a leading Medicaid Managed Services Organization (MSO) that is dedicated to improving access to quality care and reducing costs by innovating healthcare with cutting-edge technology. For more information about EHS Medical Group, visit www.ehsmd.com and www.californiamedicalchanges.com.

About SynerMed, Inc.

SynerMed is a leading Medicaid Managed Services Organization (MSO) and headquartered in Monterey Park, California. SynerMed is a physician-led and physician–driven organization, dedicated to innovating healthcare through an integrated system of tools and services that connects physicians, members, hospitals and health plans. Since its inception in 1995, SynerMed has been dedicated to improving access to quality care and reducing healthcare costs through state-of-the-art technology. SynerMed’s advanced technology is powered by CONNECT and its integrated suite of products: CONSULT, CHECKBOOK, SHARE, MATH and DIRECT. Today, SynerMed is one of the largest Medicaid Managed Services Organization (MSO) in the United States, with a network of nearly 10,000 providers who provide access to care for more than 700,000 members. For more information about SynerMed, Inc., visit www.synermed.com.

“It’s a big change,” said Sherie Archie, Regional Manager of EHS Central Valley. “Since we’re already located here in the Tri-County area, we’ve been well supported by the providers in the community because they know and trust us.”

The growth in membership is due to an agreement between Health Net and EHS to provide coverage to CalViva Health members. The agreement does not disrupt members’ healthcare because members are allowed to keep their current primary care physicians. EHS provides a virtual healthcare community also known as CONNECT, an online portal that allows communication and collaboration of care between physicians, providers and members.

As a result of the agreement, EHS expects expanded access to healthcare in the Central Valley to lead to better coordination of care and increased patient satisfaction.

“Due to our relationships with two health plans, Anthem and Health Net, we’re receiving calls from specialists who want to get inside of our network, which gives our providers the ability to offer their patients more options,” said Archie.

To communicate the change, EHS visited new providers and communicated with members to ensure a successful transition.

“We found that face-to-face communication is the best tool for helping new members with the transition,” said Archie. “We want to make sure they understand what’s happening and get straight answers to their questions. Members are able to see that EHS has the trust of providers and that we take care of providers who care for patients here in the Central Valley.”

To schedule an interview with a physician at EHS Medical Group, contact Juanda Calloway at (213) 406-8104.

About EHS Medical Group

Since 1990, EHS Medical Group has been a trusted medical professional corporation and integrated healthcare delivery system focusing on government programs, including Medi-Cal/Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP, also called Healthy Families in California), Medicare and Dual-Eligibles (Medi-Medi), organized labor and specialty IPAs. Our physician-centric accountable care model promotes growth and sustainability for individual physicians by providing access to a robust offering of products, services and management tools. EHS Medical Group is managed by SynerMed, (www.synermed.com) a leading Medicaid Managed Services Organization (MSO) that is dedicated to improving access to quality care and reducing costs by innovating healthcare with cutting-edge technology. For more information about EHS Medical Group, visit www.ehsmd.com and www.californiamedicalchanges.com.

About SynerMed, Inc.

SynerMed is a leading Medicaid Managed Services Organization (MSO) and headquartered in Monterey Park, California. SynerMed is a physician-led and physician–driven organization, dedicated to innovating healthcare through an integrated system of tools and services that connects physicians, members, hospitals and health plans. Since its inception in 1995, SynerMed has been dedicated to improving access to quality care and reducing healthcare costs through state-of-the-art technology. SynerMed’s advanced technology is powered by CONNECT and its integrated suite of products: CONSULT, CHECKBOOK, SHARE, MATH and DIRECT. Today, SynerMed is one of the largest Medicaid Managed Services Organization (MSO) in the United States, with a network of nearly 10,000 providers who provide access to care for more than 700,000 members. For more information about SynerMed, Inc., visit www.synermed.com.

Media Contact:

EHS Medical Group

Juanda Calloway

Phone: (213) 406-8104

jcalloway@synermed.com

“Multi-Cultural IPA is a safety-net provider organization for many low-income families throughout San Diego County. We are proud to be selected by CMMI to partner with SynerMed medical service organization and the San Diego Organizing Project to expand holistic patient care to disadvantaged populations, where access to care is becoming more difficult,” said MultiCultural IPA President Rodney Hood, MD.

The purpose of the Health Care Innovation Award is to advance a national model of care, “Hot Spotting,” as championed by Dr. Jeffrey Brenner of the Camden Healthcare Provider Coalition designed to identify high-utilizers of acute medical services then through a team approach focus resources to improve quality of care and reduce cost.

“Low-income, medically complex patients have the highest disease burdens with the greatest need for health care services integration. At MultiCultural IPA our comprehensive team approach to care will help us better manage patients with chronic conditions and reduce preventable inpatient and emergency department visits,” said Hood. “This project provides an innovative pathway to build patient-centered medical homes (PCMH) that will serve as an extension of many small medical clinics participating with the Multicultural IPA.”

The Rutgers CMMI grant plans to spend $14.3 million over the next three years to implement programs in California, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Missouri. The project grew out of the Bring Health Reform Home initiative of the PICO National Network, a grassroots, faith-based organization and is projected to generate a three-year savings of $ 67.7 million. PICO’s local affiliate, the San Diego Organizing Project is partnering with Multicultural IPA to achieve its goals in San Diego.

To schedule an interview with MultiCultural IPA or to learn more about the CMS Health Care Innovation Project, contact Juanda Calloway at 213-406-8104.

About MultiCultural IPA

MultiCultural Independent Physicians Association (IPA) is a group of 300 physicians located in San Diego since 1993 and provides healthcare to more than 16,000 patients and families throughout Chula Vista, National City, La Mesa, El Cajon, Mira Mesa and Poway, California. MultiCultural IPA recognizes the diverse population of San Diego County and delivers patient-centered healthcare that is culturally sensitive to the needs of families and patients of all ages. Physicians at MultiCultural IPA are recruited from the top medical schools in the country and embrace the diverse cultural needs of the residents in San Diego County. MultiCultural IPA is managed by SynerMed, a leading Medicaid Managed Service organization (MSO) that is dedicated to improving access to quality care and reducing costs by innovating healthcare with cutting-edge technology.

About SynerMed, Inc.

SynerMed is a leading Medicaid Managed Services Organization (MSO) and headquartered in Monterey Park, California. SynerMed is a physician-led and physician –driven organization, dedicated to innovating healthcare through an integrated system of tools and services that connects physicians, members, hospitals and health plans. Since its inception in 1995, SynerMed has been dedicated to improving access to quality care and reducing healthcare costs through state-of-the-art-technology. SynerMed’s advanced technology is powered by CONNECT and its integrated suite of products: CONSULT, CHECKBOOK, SHARE, MATH and DIRECT. Today, SynerMed is one of the largest Medicaid Managed Services Organization (MSO) in the United States, with a network of nearly 10,000 providers who provide access to care for more than 650,000 members. For more information about SynerMed, Inc. visit, www.synermed.com.

RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY (THE CENTER FOR STATE HEALTH POLICY)

Project Title: “Sustainable high-utilization team model”
Geographic Reach: Pennsylvania, Colorado, Missouri, California
Funding Amount: $14,347,808
Estimated 3-Year Savings: $67,719,052

Summary: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is receiving an award to expand and test a team-based care management strategy for high-cost, high-need, low-income populations served by safety-net provider organizations in Allentown, PA, Aurora, CO, Kansas City, MO, and San Diego, CA.

Led by Rutgers’ Center for State Health Policy, the project will use care management teams (including nurses, social workers, and community health workers) to provide clients with patient-centered support that addresses both health care needs and the underlying determinants of health. Teams will assist patients in filling prescriptions, finding housing or shelter, applying for health coverage or disability benefits, handling legal issues, finding transportation, treating depression, managing chronic illness, and coordinating appropriate specialty care. After patients are stabilized, the care management team will transition them to local primary care medical homes.   By improving beneficiaries’ access to ambulatory medical and social services, the project will improve patient outcomes and reduce preventable hospital inpatient and emergency room utilization. Over a three-year period, Rutgers’ program will train an estimated 155 workers and will create an estimated 43 jobs. The new workforce will include community health workers.

Essette software has a proven track record of integrating with third party applications. “We selected Essette products due to their ability to seamlessly integrate into our existing IT architecture and workflow processes,” said Darren McLachlan, Vice President of Finance and Information Technology for SynerMed, Inc. “Essette’s highly customizable software package fits our software development needs and will assist us as we continue to provide low-cost, high-quality healthcare services to more than 600,000 members in our healthcare network.”

According to Andy Gaudette, CEO of Essette, the partnership with SynerMed provides the opportunity to forge an alliance with another farsighted company and IT department dedicated to objectives similar to his own: creating purpose-built software designed to “connect people with technology”.

In an interview Andy stated: “I am excited to work with SynerMed because their state-of-the-art technology makes it possible for Essette to implement cutting-edge ideas that we’ve used successfully in other industries. From the beginning, it has been our vision to construct a company specializing in ‘bridging islands’ to develop teams that would share their determination to integrate client needs with technology and creative thought, and to share the rewards that might result from designing and marketing simple, innovative software solutions. And we always wanted to have fun in the process!”

SynerMed has opted to add Essette’s Case Management and Utilization Management products to their existing system. Essette Case Management features a framework based on NCQA Complex Case Management Guidelines and CMSA Best Practices, customizable assessments for case and disease management, and Care Plans with goals, interventions, barriers, and outcomes. Essette Utilization Management integrates with Milliman CareWebQI evidence-based guidelines.

About SynerMed, Inc.

SynerMed is a physician-led and physician-driven organization that is innovating healthcare through a system of integrated tools and services that connects physicians, hospitals and health plans. SynerMed’s advanced technology is powered by SynerMedCONNECT and its branded products: CONSULT, Checkbook, Share, Math and Direct. Today, SynerMed is one of the largest Medicaid Managed Services Organization (MSO) in the United States, with a network of nearly 10,000 providers who provide access to care for more than 650,000 members

About Essette (www.essette.com)

At GIC we have developed web-based software that can be customized and configured to meet the needs of medical management. Each of these applications can be integrated with core systems such as EZ-CAP, TriZetto, IDX, MHC and others. They can also be installed as “stand alone” applications. All of our applications are simple to use and inexpensive compared to others in the industry. For more information, visit www.essette.com.

Riverside County Medical Association (RCMA), www.rcmanet.org is a professional association representing more than 1000 physicians in Riverside County since 1893.

“As a physician practicing medicine in Riverside County, you will face many unique challenges. However, the good news is that you don’t have to face them alone,” said Riverside County Medical Association President Joseph J. C. Lee, M.D.  “We are excited to have Inland Valleys IPA as a partner to help physician practices thrive during the era of healthcare reform.”

Today, 21 physicians received a complimentary membership to RCMA made possible through a donation by SynerMed, Inc., a Managed Services Organization (MSO) dedicated to innovating healthcare through technology, improving access to quality care and reducing costs.

“Physicians must unite to protect the role of the traditional independent physician, a critical member of the healthcare Safety Net who serves the Medicaid population,“ said James Mason, President and Chief Executive Officer of SynerMed, Inc.  Inland Valleys IPA www.ehsmd.com and SynerMed are dedicated to supporting local medical associations and advocacy programs.

Inland Valleys IPA is a group of independent community physicians serving more than 50,000 patients in Riverside, San Bernardino and Northern San Diego Counties, managed by SynerMed.  By working together the organizations will provide a greater share of voice for the practice of medicine, helping to ensure independent traditional providers remain as the patient medical home for coordinated care.  Patients benefit by getting the care they need, when they need it most in their local communities.

“We offer affordable healthcare to families throughout San Diego County and disadvantaged minority populations, (The Medi-Cal Safety Net) who are greatly underserved,” said MultiCultural IPA President Rodney Hood, MD. “We are honored to be recognized by our peers for the services we provide in our community.”

MultiCultural IPA is among 30 organizations that qualified for the “Elite” category–caring for an estimated 9 million people. The physician group exceeded a peer-defined threshold in four categories and met the most stringent criteria to date held by CAPG.

The CAPG Standards of Excellence survey ranks the following categories:

1. Care Management Practices
2. Health Information Technology
3. Accountability and Transparency
4. Patient-Centered Care

To view survey results go to: http://www.capg.org/home/index.asp?page=274.

“While medical group participation and the results of the survey are voluntary, during the era of Healthcare Reform, Multicultural IPA recognizes the importance of accountability and transparency when it comes to coordinated-patient care,” said Paul Hernandez, Regional Vice President at SynerMed.

To schedule an interview to learn more about MultiCultural IPA and CAPG Standards of Excellence, contact Juanda Calloway at 213-406-8104.

About MultiCultural IPA

MultiCultural Independent Physicians Association (IPA) is a group of 300 physicians located in San Diego since 1993 and provides healthcare to more than 16,000 patients and families throughout Chula Vista, National City, La Mesa, El Cajon, Mira Mesa and Poway, California. MultiCultural IPA recognizes the diverse population of San Diego County and delivers patient-centered healthcare that is culturally sensitive to the needs of families and patients of all ages. Physicians at MultiCultural IPA are recruited from the top medical schools in the country and embrace the diverse cultural needs of the residents in San Diego County. MultiCultural IPA is managed by SynerMed, (www.synermed.com) a leading Medicaid Managed Services Organization (MSO) that is dedicated to improving access to quality care and reducing costs by innovating healthcare with cutting-edge technology.

SynerMed (www.synermed.com) is a leading Managed Services Organization that provides a suite of healthcare information technology services that support the traditional independent physician.

“This deal provides a big part of the infrastructure to allow our independent traditional physicians and their patients to gain greater access to community health data, and delivers healthcare information exchange to a broad population. We are committed to the success of these physicians because they are important members of the healthcare safety net. Until now, there has not been a sustainable model that was available to everyone,” said SynerMed President and Chief Executive Officer James Mason.

Many government-sponsored programs that provide financial resources to public nonprofit organizations that work to help the underserved and disadvantaged populations are struggling to launch and are not self-sustainable. They are primarily focused on public hospitals and community clinics, critical members of the safety net but only part; the needs of traditional independent physicians, who service an estimated 70% of the Medi-Cal safety net (and increasing), continue to be neglected.

“We are excited about our partnership with IEHIE and the ability to offer advanced technology that gives physicians and hospitals a system of care that allows the economically disadvantaged (under-insured, non-insured and insured) Medi-Cal population to experience high-quality care and greater access,” said Mason.

To learn more about SynerMed and IEHIE or to schedule an interview, contact Juanda Calloway at

213-406-8104 or email jcalloway@synermed.com.