Company
Contact:
Investor Relations
Paul A. Brown, M.D, Founder &
Chairman
Scott Liolios or Ron Both
Stephen J. Hansbrough, President &
CEO
Liolios Group, Inc.
HearUSA,
Inc
ron@liolios.com
(561)
478-8770
(949) 574-3860
HearUSA’s Exclusive Managed Care Contracts Cover 2.5 Million
Members
New and Expanded Managed Care Agreements Exceed 40 Year-to-Date
HearUSA Now Exclusive Provider to 800,000 of 10 million U.S. Seniors
Under Managed Care
West Palm Beach, Fla. -- August 27, 2007 --
HearUSA, Inc. (AMEX: EAR), the recognized leader in hearing care for the nation’s
top managed care providers, announced that since the beginning of the year it has added
more than 40 new or expanded agreements with the nation’s leading managed health care
organizations. These new agreements will offer hearing benefits to qualified members
beginning later this year or in 2008. They include “capitated” programs, where
HearUSA is the exclusive provider of hearing care to the issuer’s qualified members.
The number of patients covered under these exclusive agreements has more than doubled the
last five years, from 1.1 million to 2.5 million. This also now includes 800,000 of the 10
million U.S. senior citizens who have joined managed care organizations. HearUSA has more
than 400 payors in the managed care market, including agreements with eight out of the
nation’s ten largest health insurance companies and every one of the top five.
HearUSA has national partnerships with several major health plans, including Kaiser
Foundation Health Plan, Humana Health Plans, and WellCare Health Plans, and has expanded
its service agreements to keep pace with the growing managed care Medicare market. The
company is also a hearing care provider for the Veterans Administration in several areas
of the country, and has provided hearing services to thousands of qualified veterans.
About 45% of HearUSA’s revenues are generated from patients who have some kind of
third party payor reimbursement.
HearUSA has recently expanded its exclusive provider
relationship with Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM), one of the nation’s largest health
benefits companies. This includes servicing Humana’s senior HMO products in five
additional states for 2008. “Our partnership with HearUSA plays a key role in
providing the best of care for our members, particularly as we increasingly bring hearing
care into the realm of covered benefits for our Medicare population,” said Michael A.
Seltzer, CEO of Senior Products for Humana Florida. Humana is expected to expand its
hearing care plans to several more Medicare markets over the coming months.
Stephen J. Hansbrough, HearUSA’s president and CEO said, “All of
these new agreements will be serviced by our company-owned centers or through our Hearing
Care Network, which is comprised of some 1600 independent audiologists. While many of
these agreements are start-ups and planned expansions, they represent an important and
steadily growing segment of our business in an area where HearUSA is generally regarded as
the industry leader. Despite the need for better hearing care in this country, not all
insurers provide hearing care as part of their member services. However, our numbers show
this is changing dramatically as awareness is growing along with the aging population, as
well as the fact that hearing care is not a covered benefit under Medicare."
Independent studies, like those from the National Council on Aging, have
demonstrated the negative impact of untreated hearing loss on quality of life and
independence – factors very important to seniors and their families. Full or partial
hearing aid coverage helps to defray out of pocket costs and is an important benefit for
the Medicare population.
The Better Hearing Institute reports about 10% of Americans, or more than
31 million people, have some degree of hearing loss. Fifteen percent of adult baby boomers
(age 45-64) and almost one third of those over age 65 have hearing loss. Increased
exposure to noise is cited as a primary cause of hearing loss, which is most often found
in males (60%) compared to females. As baby boomers and retirees move into the Medicare
market, they expect their health plan to provide a full menu of health related services
that includes hearing care.
HearUSA is uniquely qualified to partner with managed care organizations
because of its company-owned centers’ accreditation by the Joint Commission on
Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (www.jcaho.org), which is a predominant
standards-setting and accrediting body in health care that evaluates and accredits 15,000
health care organizations in the United States.
The Joint Commission’s comprehensive accreditation process evaluates
an organization’s compliance with these standards and other accreditation
requirements, and consists of a rigorous on-site survey every three years. By contracting
with a qualified hearing care provider network, the health plan ensures that their
membership receives quality care, consistent delivery of services and products, and added
value features including discounted rates.
About HearUSA
HearUSA, Inc. provides hearing care to patients primarily through more
than 173 company-owned hearing care centers, which offer a complete range of quality
hearing aids with an emphasis on the latest digital technology. HearUSA Centers are
located in California, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Ohio, Michigan,
Missouri and the province of Ontario, Canada. The company also derives revenues from its
HearUSA Hearing Care Network, comprised of 1,600 affiliated audiologists in 49 states, as
well as its website that enables online purchases of hearing related products, such as
batteries, hearing aid accessories and assistive listening devices. For further
information, click on "investor information" at the HearUSA website: www.hearusa.com.