Healthcare Policy and Law News

MELVILLE, NY–(Marketwire – December 13, 2010) – FONAR Corporation (NASDAQ: FONR), The Inventor of MR Scanning™, announced today that a provider of outpatient diagnostic services (a FONAR customer) and several Stand-Up MRI diagnostic imaging professional corporations (PCs) received a jury verdict in their favor in an anti-trust lawsuit against CareCore National, LLC, a radiology benefits management (RBM) company (www.carecorenational.com).

This antitrust lawsuit involved CareCore National’s exclusion of the plaintiffs, all of them providers of MRI services using Stand-Up MRI scanners (FONAR UPRIGHT® Multi-Position™ MRIs), from utilization by its member subscribers. CareCore Radiology, a division of CareCore National, covers more than 30 million member subscribers in all 50 states. The diagnostic service provider and the PCs were represented by Constantine Cannon LLP, New York, NY, (www.constantinecannon.com). 

After more than a two-week trial, the verdict was reached November 30, 2010 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The case is Stand-Up MRI v. CareCore National, E.D.N.Y. Case No: 08 Civ. 2954 (LDW) (ETB). The eight members of the jury were unanimous in their decision and awarded over $11 million in damages to the diagnostic service provider and the PCs in the case, which are to be trebled by law. The total judgment with costs and attorney fees is expected to be close to $40 million.

In a press release, (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/constantine-cannon-attorneys-win-important-healthcare-antitrust-jury-trial-against-carecore-national-llc-111128319.html) lead Constantine Cannon trial attorney Matthew Cantor said: “This verdict is not just important for my clients, but for patients everywhere. The evidence in this case showed that even CareCore considered the Upright MRI to be medically necessary and that, nonetheless, CareCore and its owners denied patients the ability to benefit from these important diagnostic procedures. The actions of benefits managers (RBMs) that are owned and controlled by physicians, like CareCore, must be scrutinized to ensure that patient welfare is not compromised. Constantine Cannon expects that the defendants will attempt to overturn the jury award either in post-trial motion practice or on appeal. If that occurs, Constantine Cannon will vigorously defend the decision of the jury.”

“The jury found that CareCore, in league with New York-area radiologists and radiology practices that owned and/or governed CareCore, conspired to unreasonably restrain trade in the market for commercially-insured outpatient radiology procedures. The jury also found that these restraints harmed the plaintiffs — several New York radiology practices and their medical management company — that offer unique and medically necessary Upright MRI services. The Upright MRI is the only MRI that can scan patients in the weight-bearing positions that patients actually feel their pain. By doing so, Upright MRIs diagnose patient ailments, including those related to the spine, that no other MRI can,” said Cantor.

Raymond Damadian, president and founder of FONAR said, “We are pleased that the Federal Court and Jury understands the medical necessity of the FONAR UPRIGHT® Multi-Position™ MRI aka STAND-UP® MRI. This is important for FONAR, its customers, future customers and particularly the patients who need the UPRIGHT® MRI so they can be correctly diagnosed and not be given the wrong treatment which often involves surgery. We expect this to help those patients across our nation who have been previously denied these critical examinations by the RBMs.”

“FONAR’s UPRIGHT® MR technology is vital to patient needs nationwide,” said Dr. Damadian. “Back pain is the second most common reason for visiting the doctor’s office after the common cold. Close to one million spine surgeries are performed each year, but the outcomes are not good with a failure rate that varies from 10% to 40% depending on the reported study (1). Alf Nachemson, MD refers to the saddest group of these patients, those who have undergone 4, 5, or 6 spine surgeries as “multiply operated surgical cripples” (2). The surgical failure is commonly the result of operating on the wrong spinal segment (i.e. not the one responsible for the patient’s pain). This occurs because the origin of the pain is often attributed to the wrong degenerative change in the spine when the patient is imaged on a recumbent-only MRI. Degenerative changes in the adult spine are frequently multiple in number. The suspected pain generating anatomy is conventionally identified from recumbent (conventional) MRI images while the patient’s pain often occurs only when the patient is upright and when the pathology generating it is visible only when the patient is upright and fully weight-loaded.”

Dr. Damadian continued, “The FONAR UPRIGHT® Multi-Position™ MRI enables the patient to place himself in the position that generates his pain so that an MRI picture can be taken in the same position that generated the patient’s pain. Correctly identifying the pain generating pathology markedly improves patient surgical outcomes. In addition, it enables the surgeon to see ALL the pathology he has to address, not just the single position non-weight-bearing image provided by the conventional MRI. This enables the surgeon to see the full extent to which the disk herniation of his patient increases when he/she flexes or extends, or the extent to which the patient’s vertebra is sliding back and forth with body position and generating pain. Approximately 1 million spine surgeries are performed in the U.S. each year and technology to improve the surgical outcomes for these patients is a serious need.”

“In addition, there are a wide range of other needs that patients have for FONAR’s UPRIGHT® Multi-Position™ MR imaging technology,” said Dr. Damadian. “Patients who have been hospitalized, for example, with congestive heart failure, cannot lie down. In the absence of UPRIGHT ® MRI these patients are unable to receive MRI examinations when they are needed.”

“Patients with scoliosis, which most commonly arises for the first time in young adolescent girls, have been reported by the National Cancer Institute (3) to experience a 70% higher incidence of breast cancer as adults than the non-scoliotic population. The increased incidence is attributed to the multiple annual chest x-rays (2-3 times per year) needed to monitor the child’s scoliosis until adulthood in order to assure satisfactory treatment.” Dr. Damadian added, “the FONAR UPRIGHT® MRI provides the same necessary vertebral angle (“Cobb angle”) measurements as the x-ray (plus the needed measurements of vertebra rotation not supplied by x-ray), thereby avoiding the annual radiations of the x-ray procedure and eliminating the danger of subsequent adult breast cancer.”

“Women patients, for example, as a result of the inherent trauma of childbirth to their pelvic floor anatomy, will commonly suffer the consequences of PFD (pelvic floor dystrophy) later in life. The symptoms of PFD are cystic prolapse (“falling urinary bladder”) and its chronic cystitis symptoms of urinary frequency, burning on urination, fever, and if unaddressed, chronic kidney inflammation (pyclonephritis). The patient must be upright to see it. It commonly returns to its normal position when the patient is recumbent and therefore is not diagnosed by the patient’s physician who examines her in the recumbent position. It affects 10 million women. The UPRIGHT® MRI readily visualizes the fallen bladder when these patients are upright, so that the surgeon has full image visualization of the anatomy that has to be repaired.

“Another serious present need for the FONAR UPRIGHT® Multi-Position™ MRI is the rising body of patients who are sustaining dislocations of the cervical spine from automobile collision whiplash injuries of the head and neck. The UPRIGHT® MRI is needed to assess the extent to which the brain has been dislocated [descent of the tonsils of the cerebellum] into the opening in the bottom of the skull (foramen magnum). This critical assessment of the extent of brain herniation into the opening at the base of the skull (cerebellar tonsil ectopia, or CTE) can only be determined with the patient in the upright position so that the surgical repair of this herniation and the patient’s “drop attacks” can be eliminated. (4)”

(1) The Failed Spine, M. Szpalski and R. Gunzburg, eds., Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005, p. 123.
(2) Alf L. Nachemson, MD, “The Lumbar Spine An Orthopaedic Challenge”, Spine, Vol. 1, Number 1, March 1976, p. 65.
(3) National Cancer Institute, “Scientists Find Link Between Pre-1970’s Diagnostic X-rays for Scoliosis and Breast Cancer Mortality,” www.cancer.gov, 8/15/2000. “Breast Cancer Mortality  After Diagnostic Radiography: Findings from the U.S. Scoliosis Cohort Study”, Michele Morin Doody, et al., Spine, Aug. 15, 2000, Vol. 25, No. 16.
(4) Michael D. Freeman, et al., Brain Injury, July 2010:24(7-8):988-994.

About Constantine Cannon LLP

Constantine Cannon LLP represented the plaintiffs in the case. They have deep expertise in practice areas that include antitrust and complex commercial litigation, government relations, employment matters, securities and e-discovery. With offices in New York, NY and Washington, DC, the firm’s antitrust practice is among the largest in the nation, with more than 30 attorneys representing both plaintiffs and defendants in complex antitrust litigation.

For investor and other information visit: www.fonar.com.

UPRIGHT® and STAND-UP® are registered trademarks and The Inventor of MR Scanning™, Full Range of Motion™, pMRI™, Dynamic™, Multi-Position™, True Flow™, The Proof is in the Picture™, Spondylography™ Spondylometry™ and Upright Radiology™ are trademarks of FONAR Corporation.

This release may include forward-looking statements from the company that may or may not materialize. Additional information on factors that could potentially affect the company’s financial results may be found in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

CHICAGO, IL–(Marketwire – November 29, 2010) – ForceLogix Technologies Inc. (TSX-V: FLT) is pleased to announce that it filed its interim financial statements and Management’s Discussion and Analysis today for the quarter ended September 30, 2010. The financial statements are available for review on SEDAR, www.sedar.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Click here to see all recent news from this company

MILWAUKEE, WI–(Marketwire – October 26, 2010) –  Prolitec Inc., a leading developer of air treatment and air care technologies, today announced the appointment of Suresh Bhandari, 45, as Director of Business Development.

 In his new position, Mr. Bhandari, who is based in the Washington, D.C. area, will be responsible for managing the company’s government sales effort nationwide.

Bhandari comes to Prolitec from First American Corporation, a Fortune 500 company and the leader in providing nationwide property information and analytics in support of the financial and real estate sectors, where he served as Director, Federal Solutions since 2007. In that capacity, he was responsible for managing sales, marketing and GSA/GWAC functions for the company’s federal business unit. 

 Prior to that, Bhandari established the Federal Practice for Global Consultants, a $200 million IT solutions and staffing company based in Herndon, Va. As General Manager, he directed all phases of the Federal Practice’s strategy, marketing, sales, operations, and client relationships.

Earlier in his career, Bhandari worked in sales and marketing at several software and information systems companies. He began his career in 1996 as a regional sales manager for Upspring Software, Inc., Lexington, Mass., and went on to serve as vice president of sales and marketing at Rjay Consultants, Inc., Sterling, Va.; director of marketing and strategic alliances at Invertix Corporation, Alexandria, Va.; and vice president, strategic relations, Artech Information Systems, McLean, Va., before joining Global Consultants in 2004.

Mr. Bhandari, a resident of Oakton, Va., earned a Master of Science degree in computer science from Arizona State University, Tempe, Ariz.; a Bachelor of Engineering in computer engineering and science from Bangalore University, Bangalore; and, concurrently, a Diploma in Commerce, with emphasis on marketing & sales, commerce, accounting and mercantile law from Davars College of Commerce, Bangalore. 

About Prolitec
Prolitec (www.prolitec.com) develops and deploys air-treatment and air care technologies for healthcare facilities, hotels, casinos, and other institutional and commercial facilities in the U.S. and 46 countries around the world. The company’s Aerobiology and Infection Control division is engaged in the development and deployment of airborne and surface antimicrobial systems to inhibit disease transmission. 

POMONA, CA–(Marketwire – October 19, 2010) – Western University of Health Sciences programs received more than $1.3 million in federal funding to enhance learning and bring critically-needed care to vulnerable populations.

The Department of Physician Assistant Education, part of the College of Allied Health Professions, received about $100,000 in Health Resources and Services Administration grant funding to buy 10 Student Auscultation Manikins.

The College of Dental Medicine (CDM) received about $180,000 in HRSA grant funding for Project TEACH (Training Equipment for Access and Community Health). The money will be used to provide mobile dental care to rural and underserved populations.

The College of Graduate Nursing (CGN) received about $1.05 million for students in the Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) master’s program. The money will cover full tuition and educational expenses, as much as $22,000 per year, for six full-time students per year who, upon graduation, are planning to work with vulnerable populations in the delivery of Primary Care to patients in medically underserved areas. These underserved areas include those with “financial, racial, linguistic and cultural barriers to health care services and (to varying extents) need for services,” according to the National Health Policy Forum.

This grant expands access to primary care by allowing part-time FNP students to become full-time students so they can finish the program quicker and begin making a difference in the community.

The scholarships will also benefit new incoming FNP students who were accepted as part of CGN’s expansion. The FNP program averages 25 to 35 students per class. This year the program accepted 47 new students.

CDM is partnering with the Victor Valley Dental Center in Victorville to furnish the center’s mobile dental van with two fully-equipped dental chairs, said Timothy Martinez, DMD, CDM Associate Dean for Community Partnerships and Access to Care. CDM students will travel with the mobile van to schools in the Victorville area to treat students.

The grant funding also paid for three portable digital radiographic units, three portable sterilization units and two complete hand piece set ups. These portable units will help the college address multiple needs, such as providing dental care to students in the El Monte and Pomona unified school districts.

CDM will also provide perinatal dental education and prevention services for the California Department of Health’s Black Infant Health (BIH) program, which provides health education, health promotion, social support and service coordination to pregnant women and their children.

The Department of Physician Assistant Education will use about $100,000 in federal funding to improve student education and testing by purchasing 10 torso mannequins that simulate heart, lung and abdomen sounds.

Students could listen to each other’s heartbeat and breathing, but they would typically not be exposed to the broad range of abnormal sounds that they need to learn, said Tina Boykin-Mowrey, MPH, MS, PA-C, PA Department Clinical Education Coordinator.

“This will expand our training capabilities,” she said.

MONMOUTH JUNCTION, NJ–(Marketwire – October 11, 2010) –  CytoSorbents Corporation (OTCBB: CTSO), a critical care focused company using blood purification to treat life-threatening illnesses, was chosen to present at the AdvaMed 2010 MedTech Conference at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. next week. Dr. Phillip Chan, Chief Executive Officer, will speak Wednesday, October 20, 2010 at 10:10AM EDT in Room 204a.

http://www.advamed2010.com/go.cfm?do=Page.View&pid=80

Following the meeting, the presentation will be made available on the company’s investor relations website: http://www.cytosorbents.com/invest.htm

About AdvaMed 2010

AdvaMed 2010 is the premier MedTech conference for business leaders, entrepreneurs, policy-makers, media, financiers, and other industry stakeholders from around the world. In only its third year, AdvaMed 2009 attracted 1,400 industry leaders — including 500+ CEOs, Presidents and C-level executives. For more information, visit www.AdvaMed2010.com.

About CytoSorbents and CytoSorb™

CytoSorbents Corporation, and its operating subsidiary CytoSorbents, Inc., is a critical care focused therapeutic device company in clinical trials to treat severe sepsis, often called “overwhelming infection,” with a novel blood purification device called CytoSorb™. Severe sepsis afflicts more than 1 million people in the United States and an estimated 18 million people worldwide each year, killing one in every three patients despite the best treatment. In the United States, more die from severe sepsis than from either heart attacks, strokes or any single form of cancer. Severe sepsis is typically triggered by bacterial infections like pneumonia, or viral infections like influenza. However, it is the body’s abnormal immune response to the trigger that leads to severe inflammation and the unregulated, massive production of cytokines, often called “cytokine storm,” that then causes multi-organ failure and often death. CytoSorb™ is a cartridge containing highly porous polymer beads that are designed to filter cytokines and treat potentially fatal cytokine storm. As blood is pumped repeatedly through the CytoSorb™ cartridge using standard dialysis equipment, the beads bind and remove cytokines and other toxins from blood. The treated blood is then returned to the patient. The Company is currently conducting its European Sepsis Trial — a multi-center, randomized, controlled clinical trial using CytoSorb™ to treat up to 100 patients with severe sepsis in the setting of respiratory failure. Pending a successful trial, the Company will seek CE Mark approval and commercialization of CytoSorb™ in the European Union. Importantly, cytokine reduction via CytoSorb™ has broad applicability to a number of other critical care diseases where cytokine storm plays a detrimental role, including burn and smoke inhalation injury, trauma, acute respiratory distress syndrome, advanced influenza, acute pancreatitis and other. CytoSorb™ is one of a number of different resins designed for various medical applications, including improved dialysis, the potential treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders, rhabdomyolysis in trauma, removal of chemotherapy during treatment of cancer with high dose regional chemotherapy, drug detoxification and others. Additional information is available for download on the Company’s website: www.cytosorbents.com

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements in this press release are not promises or guarantees and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions and are naturally subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. We caution you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by the statements herein. CytoSorbents Corporation and CytoSorbents, Inc believe that its primary risk factors include, but are not limited to: obtaining government approvals including required FDA and CE Mark approvals; ability to successfully develop commercial operations; dependence on key personnel; acceptance of the Company’s medical devices in the marketplace; the outcome of pending and potential litigation; compliance with governmental regulations; reliance on research and testing facilities of various universities and institutions; the ability to obtain adequate financing in the future when needed; product liability risks; limited manufacturing experience; limited marketing, sales and distribution experience; market acceptance of the Company’s products; competition; unexpected changes in technologies and technological advances; and other factors detailed in the Company’s Form 10-K filed with the SEC on April 9, 2010, which is available at http://www.sec.gov.

METHUEN, MA–(Marketwire – October 5, 2010) – A ribbon cutting event is occurring at Suntron Corporation’s new manufacturing facility. Join Ed Wheeler, CEO of Suntron; Lt. Governor Timothy P. Murray; Congresswomen Niki Tsongas; Mayor Manzi III and Jose Bevilacqua in the opening event at 1pm, facility tour to follow.

Date:         October 5, 2010        
                                     
Time:         1:00 p.m.              
                                     
Location:     Suntron Corporation    
              300 Griffin Brook Drive
              Methuen, MA 01844      

METHUEN, MA–(Marketwire – September 30, 2010) –  A ribbon cutting event is occurring at Suntron Corporation’s new manufacturing facility. Join Ed Wheeler, CEO of Suntron; Lt. Governor Timothy P. Murray; Congresswomen Niki Tsongas; Mayor Manzi III and Jose Bevilacqua in the opening event at 1pm, facility tour to follow.

METHUEN, MA–(Marketwire – September 30, 2010) –  Suntron Corporation, a leader in the area of integrated Electronics Manufacturing Solutions (EMS) and Commercial Off-The Shelf (COTS) technology, with facilities across the US and in Mexico, will cut the ribbon at its new manufacturing site in Methuen, MA at 1:00 PM, October 05, 2010.

This new facility is the culmination of months of effort to combine the work previously done in two separate sites, into a larger, newer, state of the art facility. “The move to combine our northeast services under one roof clearly demonstrates Suntron’s commitment to the region and to our customers,” Roger White, VP and General Manager of the Eastern Region, stated. “We have expanded our box build manufacturing footprint and with significant capital investment, we are expanding our circuit card capacity and capabilities. I look forward to introducing everyone to the exciting new facility.”

Mike Churchill, VP of Operations for Suntron, commented on the teamwork needed to put this together. “We had amazing cooperation from so many local people and organizations, including our team of realtors from Colliers Meredith and Grew, the City of Methuen, the local Merrimack Chamber of Commerce, and the Massachusetts Business Development and Business Services groups. Their total support and guidance allowed us to accomplish our objectives in a very timely manner and we look forward to introducing everyone to our exciting new facility.”

The grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony will be hosted by Ed Wheeler, President and CEO of Suntron. Lt. Governor Timothy P. Murray, Congresswoman Niki Tsongas, Mayor William M. Manzi, III and Joe Bevilacqua, President and CEO of the Merrimack Chamber of Commerce will all participate at the event. Factory tours will begin immediately following the ceremony.

For further information on this event and the day’s agenda, please visit http://www.suntroncorp.com.

About Suntron Corporation:
Suntron delivers complete manufacturing services and solutions to support the entire life cycle of complex products in the medical, aerospace & defense, Industrial, Networking & telecommunications, and semiconductor capital equipment market segments. Headquartered in Phoenix, Suntron operates four full-service manufacturing facilities and two quick-turn facilities in North America. Suntron’s services include engineering services, printed circuit card assembly, box build, large scale and complex system integration, COTS and test.

MONMOUTH JUNCTION, NJ–(Marketwire – September 27, 2010) –  CytoSorbents Corporation (OTCBB: CTSO), a critical care focused company using blood purification to treat life-threatening illnesses, announced the achievement of ISO 13485:2003 Full Quality Systems certification, a major milestone. ISO 13485 is an internationally recognized quality standard designed to ensure that medical device manufacturers have the necessary comprehensive management systems in place to safely design, develop, manufacture and distribute medical devices in the European Union (E.U.). It is a regulatory requirement of the E.U.’s Medical Device Directive and an important step toward attaining European CE Mark approval. 

Dr. Phillip Chan, Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are very pleased to have attained this key milestone. ISO 13485 certification confirms that our manufacturing and quality systems meet the same high standards required of other major US medical device companies selling into Europe. Of the possible options, Full Quality Systems certification is the most stringent and efficient route to CE Mark approval for CytoSorb™ and other future CytoSorbents products. When coupled with CE Mark approval, ISO 13485 certification will allow CytoSorbents to commercialize its products in the E.U. market and other countries that recognize the ISO 13485 and CE Mark standards.”

About CytoSorbents and CytoSorb™

CytoSorbents Corporation, and its operating subsidiary CytoSorbents, Inc., is a critical care focused therapeutic device company in clinical trials to treat severe sepsis, often called “overwhelming infection,” with a novel blood purification device called CytoSorb™. Severe sepsis afflicts more than 1 million people in the United States and an estimated 18 million people worldwide each year, killing one in every three patients despite the best treatment. In the United States, more die from severe sepsis than from either heart attacks, strokes or any single form of cancer. Severe sepsis is typically triggered by bacterial infections like pneumonia, or viral infections like influenza. However, it is the body’s abnormal immune response to the trigger that leads to severe inflammation and the unregulated, massive production of cytokines, often called “cytokine storm,” that then causes multi-organ failure and often death. CytoSorb™ is a cartridge containing highly porous polymer beads that are designed to filter cytokines and treat potentially fatal cytokine storm. As blood is pumped repeatedly through the CytoSorb™ cartridge using standard dialysis equipment, the beads bind and remove cytokines and other toxins from blood. The treated blood is then returned to the patient. The Company is currently conducting its European Sepsis Trial — a multi-center, randomized, controlled clinical trial using CytoSorb™ to treat up to 100 patients with severe sepsis in the setting of respiratory failure. Pending a successful trial, the Company will seek CE Mark approval and commercialization of CytoSorb™ in the European Union. Importantly, cytokine reduction via CytoSorb™ has broad applicability to a number of other critical care diseases where cytokine storm plays a detrimental role, including burn and smoke inhalation injury, trauma, acute respiratory distress syndrome, advanced influenza, acute pancreatitis and other. CytoSorb™ is one of a number of different resins designed for various medical applications, including improved dialysis, the potential treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders, rhabdomyolysis in trauma, removal of chemotherapy during treatment of cancer with high dose regional chemotherapy, drug detoxification and others. Additional information is available for download on the Company’s website: www.cytosorbents.com

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements in this press release are not promises or guarantees and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions and are naturally subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. We caution you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by the statements herein. CytoSorbents Corporation and CytoSorbents, Inc believe that its primary risk factors include, but are not limited to: obtaining government approvals including required FDA and CE Mark approvals; ability to successfully develop commercial operations; dependence on key personnel; acceptance of the Company’s medical devices in the marketplace; the outcome of pending and potential litigation; compliance with governmental regulations; reliance on research and testing facilities of various universities and institutions; the ability to obtain adequate financing in the future when needed; product liability risks; limited manufacturing experience; limited marketing, sales and distribution experience; market acceptance of the Company’s products; competition; unexpected changes in technologies and technological advances; and other factors detailed in the Company’s Form 10-K filed with the SEC on April 9, 2010, which is available at http://www.sec.gov.

BOSTON, MA–(Marketwire – September 14, 2010) –  Rising healthcare costs. Confusing healthcare reform policies. Under-utilized wellness programs. These are just a few reasons why HR executives, healthcare industry leaders, and policy makers seek insight from industry-leading providers with first-hand experience in how to make employee health and wellness programs effective and measurable. Virgin HealthMiles is at the forefront providing strategic guidance and practical steps to implement and sustain effective employee health programs.

Continuing in their thought leadership roles, Virgin HealthMiles CEO Chris Boyce and President Sean Forbes share their perspectives about the role of prevention in employee health programs at four national industry conferences this fall.

Forward-thinking businesses recognize that costly and preventable lifestyle-driven behaviors have the potential to spark a profitability crisis of epic proportions for U.S. companies. Healthcare costs are expected to rise by about 8.9 percent in 2011, according to a National Business Group on Health report released in August, continuing the trend seen in recent years. What’s more, 85 percent of companies believe simply extending insurance to Americans, a key feature of the new health reform legislation, won’t make individuals healthier, according to a recent study conducted by Virgin HealthMiles in conjunction with Workforce Management magazine. Insurance alone won’t solve the problem of preventable, lifestyle-related disease. Consider that chronic disease — the majority of which are preventable — account for 75% (or $1.5 trillion) of healthcare costs impacting businesses and their employees today. Keeping people healthy and out of the healthcare system in the first place will have the most significant impact on costs.

During the upcoming conferences, Boyce and Forbes will draw from their experiences working with more than 120 U.S. companies to engage employees to be active and healthy, and will share insights on why a new generation of prevention is key to helping corporate America get ahead of rising healthcare costs. Virgin HealthMiles’ Pay-for-Prevention™ approach has helped companies create a culture of health, align their interests with those of their employees, and design incentives for healthy behaviors. Results include above industry-average employee engagement levels, improvements in employee health, and decreases in rising healthcare costs. 

Details of each conference follow:

2010 Colloquy Loyalty Summit in Phoenix, Arizona
September 16^th at 3:30-4:15 p.m.
“Feeling Better – Using Loyalty Recognition and Rewards to Improve Wellness” 
http://www.colloquy.com/2010-summit-agenda.htm
Boyce will participate in a panel discussion on how loyalty programs are being applied to wellness, and how they can motivate employees to live healthier lives and reduce healthcare costs.

World Congress’ 5^th Annual Obesity and Wellness Congress in Washington D.C.
September 30^th at 3:25-4:40pm
“Worksite Wellness – Why Employers Should Address the Obesity Epidemic”
https://www.worldcongress.com/agenda.cfm?level=inside&confCode=HL10088&agendaID=532&subAgendaID=1336
Forbes will participate in the closing key-note panel discussion on how to overcome employee resistance and facilitate positive behavior change with incentives to address the obesity epidemic. He will also address the “carrot versus stick” approach and creative strategies for motivating employee participation in employee health programs.

2010 Integrated Care Summit in Washington D.C.
October 15^th at 10:00-11:00 a.m.
“Creating a Culture of Prevention: Designing an Integrated Approach to Employee Health That Delivers Measureable Results”
http://www.dmaa.org/ics10/program_track4.asp
Boyce will discuss how creating a culture of prevention aligns the interests of companies and their employees to lower healthcare costs. He will also discuss wellness measurement strategies.

2^nd Annual Retail Health Clinics Congress in Las Vegas, Nevada
October 25^th at 1:45-2:30 p.m.
“Retail Health Clinics and their Role in Employer Health and Wellness”
http://www.globalmediadynamics.com/upcoming-events/retail-health-clinics
Boyce will provide insight on how retail health clinics can directly bolster employee health and wellness programs. He will also discuss how to effectively utilize biometric data and other resources in order to measure and manage program effectiveness.

About Virgin HealthMiles
Virgin HealthMiles provides employee health programs that pay people to get active. The company’s Pay-for-Prevention™ approach, based on physical activity and healthy lifestyle change, attracts an average of 40 percent of employees who participate, which helps organizations reduce medical costs and improve employee productivity and satisfaction. The program is offered by employers, government entities, and insurers. Over 120 industry leaders representing more than 500,000 employees across the U.S., including American Diabetes Association, Intuit, MWV, OhioHealth, Ochsner Health System, Protective Life, SunGard, SunTrust, and Timberland have selected Virgin HealthMiles’ award-winning program for their employees. The company is a member of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group. For more information, visit www.virginhealthmiles.com

Click here to see all recent news from this company

RALEIGH, NC–(Marketwire – September 8, 2010) –  Care Share Health Alliance is gathering some of the best health care minds in the state and bringing them together for three interactive meetings across North Carolina this fall. These sessions will provide North Carolina safety net partners with the opportunity to:

• interact with state and local leaders on best practices in developing collaborative networks of care;
• hear how health reform may affect them and the safety net;
• learn from state, regional and local funders how to effectively work with funders during these challenging economic times.

The meetings are open to the public and targeted toward those who provide health care services to low-income uninsured populations, or those who are involved in guiding or navigating the uninsured to resources for care. This includes, but is not limited to, anyone involved with organizations such as: hospitals, community health centers, Federally Qualified Health Centers, rural health centers, health departments, free clinics, HealthNet networks, departments of social services, medical societies, dental societies, Area Health Education Centers, behavioral health organizations and other nonprofit agencies. 

“We chose to hold three regional meetings instead of one statewide meeting to make these workshops as convenient as possible for safety net partners and to make the content as locally relevant as possible,” says Care Share Executive Director Kellan Chapin. “Participants will get to hear from state health care leaders, but will also get to interact with their regional colleagues and learn from each other.”

Sessions take place:

• Friday, Sept. 24 in Asheville
• Tuesday, Oct. 5 in Greenville
• Thursday, Oct. 21 in Greensboro

The workshops run 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and a $50 registration fee covers workshop supplies, a light continental breakfast, lunch and other refreshments.

The Asheville workshop features Karen Minyard, director of the Georgia Health Policy Center, discussing health care reform. The Greenville session features Pam Silberman, president of the North Carolina Institute of Medicine, on health care reform, and Tami Eldridge, Scott Whisnant and Sheila Roberts from Cape Fear HealthNet on tools and best practices for building collaboration among safety net partners. And the Greensboro meeting features: Dr. Robert Strack, head of the Department of Public Health Education at UNC Greensboro discussing a community approach to improving health; psychologist Dr. Doris Paez of NC State University on tools and best practices for collaboration building; and attorney Alicia Gilleskie of Smith Anderson discussing HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and tools for sharing data.

Register and get more information at www.caresharehealth.org or call 919-861-8353.

About Care Share
Care Share is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, statewide resource that helps communities develop comprehensive networks to coordinate care for low-income uninsured and underserved populations. Care Share helps communities by: bringing people together to create a shared plan for serving those in need; sharing knowledge and resources within communities; and sharing best practices and guidance among communities across the state.

Assistance is available to communities throughout the state at no charge. Call 919-861-8353 for more information.

Click here to see all recent news from this company

BOSTON, MA–(Marketwire – September 8, 2010) –  Virgin HealthMiles, a leading provider of employee health and productivity programs that reward individuals for getting healthy, today announced it will host a free webinar focused on the role of prevention in the new healthcare reform legislation and how organizations can obtain measurable business value from their healthcare decisions.

The webinar, “Healthcare Reform: The Role of Prevention in the New Legislation,” will be held Tuesday, September 14, 2010, from 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET. 

Virgin HealthMiles President Sean Forbes will be joined in the webinar by Brian Klepper, an expert on healthcare reform. Klepper is an Aspen Institute Health Forum Fellow and serves as one of only three non-physicians on the International Editorial Board of the Medscape Journal of Medicine. He is also a health care columnist for American City Business Journals and writes for The Health Care Blog.

During this webinar, the presenters we will take a strategic and tactical look at the role of wellness in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), including:

• A high-level summary of the PPACA with a focus on the wellness provisions
• A chronological look at the impact of reform on business
• How to obtain measurable business value from a company’s healthcare decisions

To register for the live webinar, please visit:
https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=registration.jsp&eventid=239510&sessionid=1&key=1A9E973CA1C8590F6C3EEBEE02EAEB02&partnerref=VHMPress

A free recording of the webinar will be available on the Virgin HealthMiles website at: www.virginhealthmiles.com. 

About Virgin HealthMiles
Virgin HealthMiles provides employee health programs that pay people to get active. The company’s Pay-for-Prevention™ approach, based on physical activity and healthy lifestyle change, attracts an average of 40 percent of employees who participate, which helps organizations reduce medical costs and improve employee productivity and satisfaction. The program is offered by employers, government entities, and insurers. Over 120 industry leaders representing more than 500,000 employees across the U.S., including American Diabetes Association, Intuit, OhioHealth, Ochsner Health System, MWV, Protective Life, SunGard, SunTrust, and Timberland have selected Virgin HealthMiles’ award-winning program for their employees. The company is a member of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group. For more information, visit www.virginhealthmiles.com

Click here to see all recent news from this company