Comprehensive Care Corporation Signs Agreement with Upstate Financial Services/John Argiro, Leading National Healthcare Consultant to Labor

TAMPA, Fla., June 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Comprehensive Care Corporation (OTC BB: CHCR), a leading behavioral health, substance abuse and pharmacy management provider for employers, Taft-Hartley health and welfare funds, and managed care companies, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Upstate Financial Service/John Argiro (collectively, "Mr. Argiro"), a leading consulting firm in healthcare to local and national unions, municipalities and private-sector groups. 

The agreement calls for Mr. Argiro providing his services, exclusively, to CompCare's wholly-owned subsidiary, CompCare Pharmacy Solutions, Inc., in connection with its marketing and selling of CompCare's pharmacy savings, behavioral health and wellness programs.  Mr. Argiro currently serves as senior healthcare consultant to many unions, municipalities and private-sector groups having an aggregate total population of approximately 1.2 million lives with an annual aggregate pharmacy expense of approximately $1 billion.

"I and senior management of CompCare have worked with Mr. Argiro for in excess of six months, and we consider reaching this agreement with Mr. Argiro a proverbial 'coup.'  Mr. Argiro is one of the leading healthcare experts specializing in union relationships.  He is extremely well respected by top labor leaders at both national and local levels.  He is knowledgeable with respect to the ever-increasing costs in healthcare in general and the reasons those expenses keep going up.  As such, we believe Mr. Argiro is well positioned to evaluate CompCare's Pharmacy Savings Program, recognize the impact the rising cost of pharmacy has on the overall costs of healthcare and recommend to his clients how CompCare's Pharmacy Savings Program can reduce those costs," said Mr. Ramon Martinez, President of CompCare Pharmacy Solutions, Inc.

Mr. Martinez continued, "In the last six months, Mr. Argiro has recommended our program, initially, to two local unions.  Largely on the strength of that recommendation, both unions signed pharmacy agreements with CompCare, which are scheduled to launch later this summer.  Though these first two locals are relatively smaller in size than Mr. Argiro's other clients, we expect them to provide CompCare with an annualized revenue of approximately $6 million. We are excited by Mr. Argiro's decision to work with CompCare in the continued marketing of our Pharmacy Savings Program to various sectors of his book of business and look forward to him recommending CompCare's programs to many of his other clients.  We believe that through Mr. Argiro's expertise, we will become the first choice for unions, working families, municipalities and self-insureds."

Mr. John Argiro, President of Upstate Financial Services, stated, "CompCare's Pharmacy Savings Program is unique in the pharmacy benefit management sector of healthcare and long overdue.  My job is to look for the best healthcare programs for my clients, including pharmacy programs that will not only service their membership in the most efficient manner possible, but also in the most cost-effective manner possible without any decrease in the quality of care.  CompCare's Pharmacy Savings Program not only reduces pharmacy costs but, through its wellness and behavioral health components, I believe is designed to better service my clients' memberships than any other program in the marketplace.  I have specialized in this area for over seventeen years, and I am convinced that CompCare's program represents the next level of pharmacy benefits management in the healthcare industry."

Mr. Argiro continued, "I intend to recommend CompCare's Pharmacy Savings Program to many, if not most of, my other clients, and I fully expect that many of those clients will agree with my recommendation.  CompCare offers my clients a minimum of a 10% reduction from their prior years' pharmacy expenses; an at-risk program whereby CompCare takes on the full responsibility of my clients' pharmacy expenses at the reduced pricing; and a performance surety bond to guarantee my clients that CompCare will meet its commitment of service and pricing.  This gives my clients peace of mind that their pharmacy expenses will not, unexpectedly, sky-rocket after a contract is signed.  Their wellness and behavioral health programs, being an integral part of their pharmacy program, work to generally improve the health and well-being of my clients' population – another big plus.  I am excited to be part of this new paradigm in healthcare."

"With Mr. Argiro's excellent contacts and prestigious background, we anticipate successfully entering into numerous other union and municipality contracts in the upcoming months," concluded Mr. Ramon Martinez.

About Comprehensive Care Corporation

Established in 1969, CompCare provides behavioral health, substance abuse and pharmacy management services for employers, Taft-Hartley health and welfare Funds, and managed care companies throughout the United States.  Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, CompCare focuses on personalized attention, flexibility, a commitment to high-quality services and innovative approaches that address both the specific needs of clients and changing healthcare industry demands.  For more information, please call 813-288-4808 or visit our website at www.compcare.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for statements of historical fact, the matters discussed in this press release are forward looking and made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect numerous assumptions and involve a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond CompCare's control that may cause actual results to differ materially from stated expectations. These risk factors include, among others, the impact that Mr. Argiro will have on the acceptance and adoption of CompCare's service offerings; the amount of revenue to be derived from the two recently signed contracts with unions; the ability of CompCare to maximize its market share with new pharmacy initiatives, the ability of CompCare's new pharmacy cost-savings program to guarantee a 10% or more reduction in pharmacy costs, the ability of CompCare's pharmacy program to promote greater medication adherence without restricting access to needed medications, the ability of CompCare's pharmacy cost-savings program to revolutionize the pharmacy sector of the healthcare industry, CompCare's ability to provide superior patient care while increasing its business and margins as a result of implementing its pharmacy cost-savings program, the ability to obtain a performance bond on satisfactory terms, the ability of CompCare and its staff to execute its business plan, the ability of CompCare to offer and sell any of its products at a profit, changes in local, regional, and national economic and political conditions, the effect of governmental regulation, competitive market conditions, varying trends in member pharmacy utilization, our ability to manage healthcare operating expenses, our ability to achieve expected results from new business, the profitability, if any, from capitated pharmacy contracts or other products, increases or variations in cost of care, seasonality, CompCare's ability to obtain additional financing, and additional risk factors as discussed in the reports filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available on its website at www.sec.gov. Any forward- looking statement in this release speaks only as of the date on which it is made. CompCare assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

Investor Contacts:
Paul Knopick
E & E Communications
[email protected]
940.262.3584

SOURCE Comprehensive Care Corporation