Press Releases
Hythiam And The Assist Group To Collaborate On Post-Delivery Disease Management Program For Substance Dependent Mothers On Medicaid
Los Angeles, Calif., October 3, 2007
Hythiam, Inc. (NASDAQ:HYTM) today announced that it has partnered with The Assist Group, a leader in integrated claims resolution and disease management solutions, to market a disease management program for high-risk maternity alcohol and substance abuse mothers who are covered by Medicaid and commercial managed care plans. The objective of this Healthy Mothers Substance Abuse Disease Management Program (HMSADM) is to keep women in managed care health plans healthy and free of substances in order to lower the risk of future high-risk pregnancy or complications to a newborn's health. Substance-dependent pregnancy and newborn cases are extremely costly to manage and potentially endanger the long-term health of a mother or newborn. The Assist Group has been providing care management and claims resolution services since 1999 and their customers include Medicaid and Commercial Health Plans, Reinsurers and Third Party Administrators (TPAs).
"Providing access to treatment to all populations continues to be our mission at Hythiam, and this relationship brings us one step closer to fulfilling that vision," said Terren Peizer, Hythiam's Chairman and CEO. "The extremely high prevalence of substance dependence among the lives covered by Medicaid programs continues to pose a tremendous burden on our healthcare system in this country. Pregnant and post-partum mothers represent an especially sensitive population where the addiction of the mother often renders her unable to care for her newborn. The result is escalating costs, higher degree of medical complications for the mother and child, and ultimately a vicious cycle that results in more high-cost pregnancies. We are pleased to join the Assist Group in working towards stemming this tide and demonstrating our value to the general Medicaid population by first proving useful in this high-risk sub-group."
There are tremendous gaps in care for drug abusing pregnant and parenting women. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health in 2002 and 2003, 4.3 percent of pregnant women aged 15 to 44 used illicit drugs during the past month and, 4.1 percent reported binge alcohol use. Access to services for recovery for substance abusing pregnant and parenting women is fragmented at best and it is estimated that less than 25% of programs address the pregnant and parenting woman.
The Assist Group currently provides payers with clinical and financial oversight for women with highrisk pregnancies through its CareAssist High Risk Maternity Management Program. The new HMSADM platform will combine Hythiam's PROMETA® Treatment Program and disease management strategy with The Assist Group's comprehensive care management for qualified alcohol or substance abusing mothers who have had a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) baby that was exposed to substances inutero. The program aims to provide these families with a better chance for a healthy life, to optimize outcomes for mother and child and minimize the expense by improving the quality and continuity of care.
"Together with Hythiam, we will focus on delivering disease and care management to substance dependent mothers," said Rose Bemis Heys, EVP Strategic Development at The Assist Group. "We can greatly reduce the clinical risk and associated costs for both mother and child by implementing this proactive program. Furthermore, providing the PROMETA Treatment Program postpartum will allow us to target the physiological and social aspects of this disease in order to achieve better long term outcomes for families."
About The Assist Group
The Assist Group is the industry leader in integrated disease management and claims resolution services, leveraging advanced technology and industry experts to develop the next generation of claims management solutions. The Assist Group's products include CareAssist, offering complete clinical and financial management of complex maternal-newborn conditions, and ClinAssist, providing comprehensive complex claim resolution services, from initial screening through settlement that can significantly reduce costs. Founded in 1999, The Assist Group has offices in Lakewood, Colorado, and Irvine, California. To learn more, please visit www.assistgroup.com.
About the PROMETA® Treatment Program
Hythiam's PROMETA® Treatment Program is designed for use by healthcare providers seeking to treat individuals diagnosed with dependencies to alcohol, cocaine or methamphetamine, as well as combinations of these drugs. The PROMETA® Treatment Program includes nutritional supplements, FDA-approved oral and IV medications used off-label and separately administered in a unique dosing algorithm, as well as psychosocial or other recovery-oriented therapy chosen by the patient and his or her treatment provider. As a result, PROMETA® represents an innovative approach to managing alcohol, cocaine, or methamphetamine dependence that is designed to address physiological, nutritional, and psychosocial aspects of the disease, and is thereby intended to offer patients an opportunity to achieve sustained recovery. To learn more, please visit www.prometainfo.com.
About Hythiam, Inc.
Hythiam, Inc. provides behavioral health management services to health plans, employers, criminal justice, and government agencies through a network of licensed and company managed providers. The company approaches the management of behavioral health disorders with a focus on using the latest medical and health technology towards improved outcomes and out-patient treatment. Hythiam also researches, develops, licenses and commercializes innovative and proprietary physiological, nutritional, and behavioral treatment programs. Hythiam offers disease management for substance dependence built around its proprietary PROMETA® Treatment Program for alcoholism and dependence to stimulants. The PROMETA® Treatment Program, which integrates behavioral, nutritional, and medical components, is available through both licensed treatment providers and company managed PROMETA® Centers. Hythiam does not practice medicine or manufacture, distribute, or sell any medications and has no relationship with any manufacturers or distributors of medications used in the PROMETA® Treatment Program. For further information, please visit www.hythiam.com.