TZIX Trizetto Grp. (MM)

The TriZetto Group Inc. (NASDAQ: TZIX) announced today that the Universal American Corporation (NYSE: UAM) health plan is implementing TriZetto�s CareAdvance Medicare� software module. �TriZetto recognizes that our senior members are by far the most complex population we touch and that we need to be equipped with the right tools to identify senior health risk issues as early as possible,� said Patricia Salber, M.D., chief medical officer and senior vice president, Universal American � managed care division. �TriZetto�s Clinical CareAdvance� and CareAdvance Medicare applications will help us quickly identify those members who require additional assistance and more efficiently manage the quality and cost of care on a more routine basis.� �Statistics show that care management for seniors is highly complex, with 82 percent of Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and older living with one or more chronic conditions and 65 percent with multiple chronic conditions,� said Gene Drabinski, TriZetto�s president of cost and quality of care.* �CareAdvance Medicare application�s high-risk member identification tool was one of the many features Universal American sought to more accurately and effectively manage its Medicare population.� The CareAdvance Medicare module is an optional component to TriZetto�s Clinical CareAdvance application, the clinician-facing feature of the CareAdvance Enterprise� system. The CareAdvance Enterprise system is a care management system that supports members and clinicians across the entire continuum of care -- from utilization management to population health management. Universal American, which serves a population of more than 240,000 seniors through its Medicare Advantage Plan, selected the CareAdvance Medicare module to support the delivery of care for seniors that is efficient and focused on geriatric diseases and syndromes. The tool uses 50 different rules to identify and stratify senior-specific diseases from multiple sources, based on geriatric syndromes including frailty, falls, decubitus ulcers, polypharmacy, co-morbidity and safety. Universal American can enhance capabilities further by incorporating predictive modeling and additional health risk assessment data and biometrics. With the TriZetto Clinical CareAdvance and CareAdvance Medicare applications, Universal American also has standard claims processing, authorization, lab values and pharmacy tools that can help: Enhance administrative efficiency by improving care management workflow; Support revenue goals by improving member retention, referrals and satisfaction; and Reduce the cost of medical care by improving the management of targeted conditions that are more common in older adults. �Medicare beneficiaries need special attention from health plans because of chronic illnesses and geriatric syndromes,� said Michael Cantor, M.D., J.D., a Harvard Medical School professor and geriatrician who works with health plans and other organizations to address the unique needs of the Medicare population. �Without tailored programs to provide senior-specific care, plans take on substantial risk as health care costs continue to rise.� Cantor, who also assisted TriZetto in developing the CareAdvance Medicare module, added, �The senior population continues to grow, and health plans such as those offered by the subsidiaries of Universal American are planning for the future by implementing effective care management tools to control care-related costs and subsequently drive long-term success.� The TriZetto CareAdvance Enterprise system automates care management workflows and personalizes member communications in support of case, disease and population management. It enables the secure collection and aggregation of member data in a single repository, so that data can be shared by all entities involved in the member's care. Personalized information and self-care tools help members make informed, effective decisions about their own care. The CareAdvance Enterprise system includes both the Clinical CareAdvance and the Personal CareAdvance� applications. About Universal American Corp. Universal American offers a diverse range of healthcare products � including health insurance, managed care and prescription drug benefits � through its subsidiaries. Its companies are collectively among the leading providers of Medicare Advantage and Medicare prescription drug plans in the United States, as over 2 million seniors rely on Universal American�s products for their health or prescription drug coverage. For more information on Universal American, visit its Web site at www.universalamerican.com. About TriZetto TriZetto is Powering Integrated Healthcare Management�. With its technology touching nearly half of the U.S. insured population, TriZetto is uniquely positioned to drive the convergence of health benefit administration, care management and constituent engagement. The company provides premier information technology solutions that enable payers and other constituents in the healthcare supply chain to improve the coordination of benefits and care for healthcare consumers. Healthcare payers include national and regional health insurance plans, and benefits administrators that provide transaction services to self-insured employer groups. The company�s payer-focused information technology offerings include enterprise and component software, hosting and business process outsourcing services, and consulting. Headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif., TriZetto can be reached at 949-719-2200 or at www.trizetto.com. * Wolff, Jennifer L., M.H.S., Starfield, Barbara, M.D., M.P.H., and Anderson, Gerald, Ph.D., �Prevalence, Expenditures and Complications of Multiple Chronic Conditions in the Elderly,� Arch Intern Med., American Medical Association, Nov. 11, 2002, Vol. 162, pp. 2269-2276.