For Immediate Release

Contact:
Scott Harris
Director of Marketing & Sales
Milliman Care Guidelines
Tel +1 206 381.8160
Cell +1 480 203.7268
scott.harris@milliman.com

Jim Loughman
Director, Media Relations & Public Affairs
Milliman
Tel +1 203 698.0008
jim.loughman@milliman.com

Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for Illinois Adopts Milliman Care Guidelines

SEATTLE — September 28, 2005 — Milliman Care Guidelines^® announced today that the federally designated Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for Illinois, the Illinois Foundation for Quality Health Care (IFQHC), has chosen Milliman Care Guidelines for use by IFQHC to screen Illinois Medicare cases.

Effective July 1, 2005, the QIO for Illinois began using Milliman Care Guidelines as their written criteria for non-physician reviewer nurses when screening Medicare cases for referral for physician review. IFQHC previously used its own criteria to screen Medicare cases. After an extensive research and review period, the QIO chose Milliman Care Guidelines because of Milliman’s proficiency in criteria development and its ongoing program of frequent updates.

“Our goal is to use current evidence-based criteria that will assist the staff in making appropriate and accurate referrals to physician reviewers. The Care Guidelines suit our needs best because they also include references and annotated bibliographies for each guideline and are available in multiple electronic formats,” said Sandi Hall, R.N., Program Specialist for Medicare Case Review.

IFQHC will use the Ambulatory Care, Inpatient and Surgical Care, Recovery Facility Care, Home Care, General Recovery Guidelines and Long-term Acute Care Hospital Guidelines. The Care Guidelines are available free-of-charge to QIOs, to allow them access to the criteria used by most commercial insurers, which will help streamline the quality and appropriateness reviews in hospitals.

“Milliman Care Guidelines offers evidence-based clinical tools that provide a strong basis for efficient management of cases. The Illinois Foundation for Quality Health Care chose the Milliman Care Guidelines after a considerable decision-making process, and we are confident that they will be very satisfied with their choice,” said Scott Harris, Director of Marketing and Sales for Milliman Care Guidelines.

The Milliman Care Guidelines span the continuum of patient care, providing access to evidence-based knowledge and best practices relevant to patients in a broad range of care settings. Designed to be used in conjunction with health care professionals’ clinical judgment, the Care Guidelines enable more informed and consistent clinical care decisions and promote the best possible care management.

The Milliman Care Guidelines are designed for both retrospective and concurrent review. Hospitals can use the guidelines in the same way as the IFQHC to determine appropriateness of admission and appropriateness of inpatient care. The Milliman Care Guidelines span the continuum of care, providing access to evidence-based knowledge and best practices relevant to patients in a broad range of care settings.

About The Illinois Foundation for Quality Health Care

IFQHC is the federally designated Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for Illinois. The company continues to maintain a leadership role in projects with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on pilot projects like public reporting and DOQ-IT. Our diverse health care teams work with doctors, hospitals, Home Care and nursing home providers, as well as consumers to improve health care quality. Services include Quality improvement (QI) projects; Medical and utilization review programs; Health care provider education and coaching; and Medicare consumer education.

About Milliman Care Guidelines

Milliman Care Guidelines, LLC located in Seattle, WA, is a Milliman Company and provides its Care Guidelines to many of the firm’s clients in the hospital and insurance industries. The Care Guidelines are evidence-based tools that guide care and improve care management across the continuum of care. They reflect current best practices for the actual working environment of today’s healthcare organizations. The Milliman Care Guidelines are used to support the health care of one in three Americans. For further information, visit www.careguidelines.com.

Milliman, whose corporate offices are in Seattle, serves the full spectrum of business, financial, government, and union organizations. Founded in 1947 as Milliman & Robertson, the company has 32 offices in the United States as well as offices in Bermuda, Hong Kong, London, Madrid, México City, Milan, Munich, São Paulo, Seoul, and Tokyo. Milliman employs approximately 1,850 people, including a professional staff of more than 850 qualified consultants and actuaries. The firm has consulting practices in employee benefits, healthcare, life insurance/financial services, and property and casualty insurance. It is a founding member of Milliman Global, an international organization of consulting firms serving insurance, employee benefits, and healthcare clients worldwide. For further information, visit www.milliman.com.