Bravo Health

News Release

First Bravo Health Advanced Care Center in Baltimore Opens

Center Meets Members’ Point-of-Need Health Issues

(BALTIMORE, MD — October 27, 2010) — Bravo Health (www.bravohealth.com) today announced the opening of the first Bravo Health Advanced Care Center (the Center) in Baltimore. The Center, an innovative, state-of-the-art physician practice designed to help Bravo Health Mid-Atlantic Inc.’s participating providers meet the health care needs of their members, is located at 312 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21201.

Staffed by board certified physicians, the Center serves as an extension of the member’s primary care provider (PCP) by providing:

• Immediate care when a patient has a non-emergent condition and the PCP is not available because it is after hours or the appointment schedule is full
• Care and physician-directed case management for a complex condition that requires significant time or resources that the patient’s PCP cannot easily offer

“The Center is unique because we work closely with our network providers to complement the care they give their patients,” said Andrew Aronson, MD, vice president of physician practice operations for the Center. “Our goal is to enhance overall efficiency and quality by effectively addressing complex and immediate health issues at the members’ point of need.”

The need for the type of complementary health care services the Center offers was highlighted in a 2009 Rand Corporation report examining ambulatory care sensitive (ACS) hospitalizations and emergency department visits among Baltimore City residents. According to the report, ensuring the availability of primary care, as well as adequate urgent care and coordination of care, could lower ACS rates. ¹

The Center is the first to open in Baltimore. Two Centers opened in the Philadelphia area earlier this year.

“Baltimore is a distinctive community with specific medical needs,” said Chuck Kanach, president of Bravo Health Mid-Atlantic. “We are pleased to be able to tailor this innovative health care delivery approach to serve Bravo Health members in the Baltimore community.”

The new Center is located in an area where a high concentration of the Baltimore-area membership lives. Bravo Health estimates the Center could serve approximately 10,000 Baltimore-area members per year.

The Center offers the following convenient hours of operation:

• Immediate care services are available 365 days of the year from 11 am to 8 pm
• Complex care services are available Monday through Friday from 8 am to 5 pm

There is no copayment, in accordance with the member’s Bravo Health benefit plan, and no appointment is necessary for immediate care services. Transportation arrangements and secure parking are available.

In addition to Philadelphia and Baltimore, Bravo Health intends to establish more Centers in other markets, including Texas.