Kentucky Health Cooperative and St. Elizabeth Healthcare partner to serve consumers in northern Kentucky

Direct contract between nonprofit health issuer and hospital system potentially benefits thousands of Kentuckians

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Dec. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Kentucky's all-new, nonprofit health insurance carrier, Kentucky Health Cooperative, Inc., and St. Elizabeth Healthcare, a nationally recognized health system, announced today their collaboration agreement to serve health consumers in northern Kentucky.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130903/DC73073LOGO)

Stated Janie Miller, CEO, Kentucky Health Cooperative, "We are delighted to announce that Healthcare, serving northern Kentucky, will be contracting directly with us, potentially providing care to thousands of health care consumers who live in northern Kentucky and in the Greater Cincinnati area. With help from St. Elizabeth Healthcare, Kentucky Health Cooperative's promise to offer coverage based on consumer well-being rather than the cost of treatments; to offer personalized assistance and consultation on health issues to members with special health needs; and to offer streamlined, easy-to-understand options, will become even more closely realized."

"We are pleased to partner with Kentucky Health Cooperative," said William Banks, Vice President of Managed Care and Revenue Cycle, with St. Elizabeth Healthcare. "Our commitment to accessing quality health care providers through our provider network is a perfect fit to their needs."

Northern Kentucky is typically recognized as the commonwealth's 3 northernmost counties: Boone, Kenton and Campbell. Gallatin, Grant, Pendleton and Bracken counties are frequently considered a part of the geographic region.

Kentucky Health Cooperative

Kentucky Health Cooperative, Inc., based in Louisville, is dedicated to improving health outcomes by providing member-focused, accessible, cost-effective and quality-focused health care coverage to individuals and small groups living in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Kentucky Health Cooperative was identified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to receive loans to create and operate a Consumer Oriented and Operated Plan, or CO-OP. CO-OPs are nonprofit, member-governed health insurance companies. Kentucky Health Cooperative gained approval in March, 2013 from the Kentucky Department of Insurance to operate as an insurer in the Commonwealth. Kentucky Health Cooperative will offer health plan benefits starting Jan. 1, 2014.

More information: www.mykyhc.org or on Facebook.

St. Elizabeth Healthcare

St. Elizabeth Healthcare operates 6 facilities throughout Northern Kentucky — Edgewood, Florence, Ft. Thomas, Covington, Grant and Falmouth. It also has vast resources to serve the Greater Cincinnati area, including almost 1,200 licensed beds, a physician organization which includes more than 86 primary care and specialty office locations, more than 1,200 physicians with admitting privileges, more than 7,400 associates including St. Elizabeth Physicians, more than 1,200 volunteers, 3 freestanding imaging centers and 2 outpatient ambulatory surgery centers. St. Elizabeth Healthcare is sponsored by the Diocese of Covington and provided more than $96 million in uncompensated care and benefit to the community in 2012. For more information, please visit www.stelizabeth.com, Facebook.com/StElizabethHealthcare, twitter.com/StElizabethNKY or YouTube.com/StElizabethNKY.

CONTACT: Susan Dunlap, Kentucky Health Cooperative (502) 498-5539
or Cary Willis, New West (502) 891-2550 or Andrea Brady (502) 891-2558

SOURCE Kentucky Health Cooperative