Appendix II
Speaker’s Company Profiles
Aetna
Aetna provides managed care benefits and dental, pharmacy, vision, and group insurance coverage. Aetna covers more than 18 million individuals under its health plans, plus more than 14 million dental plan members and some 11 million group members. Aetna has radically restructured its operations by selling the Financial Services division and its international businesses to Dutch insurer ING Group, making Aetna strictly a health and related benefits company. Its annual revenues are approximately 24.7 billion dollars.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is designed to support research design to improve the quality of health care, reduce its cost, improve patient safety, address medical errors, and broaden access to essential services. AHRQ sponsors and conducts research that provides evidence-based information on health care outcomes; quality; and cost, use and access. The information helps health care decision makers—patients and clinicians, health system leaders, and policymakers—make more informed decisions and improve the quality of health care services. In fiscal year 2001, AHRQ received an appropriation of approximately 270 million dollars.
American Association of Health Plans
The American Association of Health Plans (AAHP) is the nation’s principal association of health plans, representing more than 1,000 plans that provide
coverage for approximately 150 million Americans nationwide. Member plans include health maintenance organizations (HMOs), preferred provider organizations (PPOs), other similar health plans and utilization review organizations (UROs). AAHP’s mission is to advance health care quality and affordability through leadership in the health care community, advocacy and the provision of services to member health plans.
American Cancer Society
Dedicated to the elimination of cancer, the American Cancer Society is a not-for-profit organization, staffed by professionals and more than 2 million volunteers at some 3,400 local units across the country. ACS is the largest source of private cancer research funds in the U.S. In addition to research, the ACS supports detection, treatment, and education programs. The organization encourages prevention efforts with programs such as the Great American Smokeout. Patient services include moral support, transportation to and from treatment, and camps for children who have cancer. Programs account for about 71% of expenses; 29% goes to administration and fund-raising.
American Diabetes Association
The American Diabetes Association is the nation’s leading nonprofit health organization providing diabetes research, information and advocacy. Founded in 1940, the American Diabetes Association conducts programs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, reaching more than 800 communities. The mission of the organization is to prevent and cure diabetes, and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. To fulfill this mission, the American Diabetes Association funds research, publishes scientific findings, provides information and other services to people with diabetes, their families, health care professionals and the public and advocates for scientific research and for the rights of people with diabetes.
HealthPartners
HealthPartners is a family of nonprofit Minnesota health care organizations focused on improving the health of its members, its patients and the community. HealthPartners is consumer-governed. HealthPartners and its related organizations provided health care services, insurance and HMO coverage to nearly 660,000 members. More than 9,200 employees staff the various HealthPartners organization. HealthPartners family includes Group Health, a staff-model health maintenance organization (HMO) founded in 1957, and the former MedCenters Health Plan, a network-model HMO founded in 1972. HealthPartners affiliated with Regions Hospital, Ramsey clinics and Regions Hospital Foundation in 1993.
Marriott
Marriott International is the #1 lodging company in the world with almost 2,400 owned or franchised properties in 64 countries. Its hotel brands include Courtyard, Marriott, Residence Inn, Spring Hill Suites, and Ritz-Carlton. Other operations include Marriott Vacation Club International (time-share resorts), Marriott Senior Living Services (senior living communities), and Marriott Distribution Services (distribution of food and related items). The company was formed in 1998 when Marriott International split its lodging operations from its food and facilities management services (now run by Sodexho Alliance). The Marriott family owns about 18% of the company, and its revenues for fiscal year 2000 were approximately 9.4 billion dollars.
Medical Technology Leadership Forum
The Medical Technology Leadership Forum (MTLF) is a not-for-profit membership organization headquartered in Washington, DC. Founded in 1996, MTLF consists of a broad cross-section of the physicians, research institutions and universities, manufacturers, and patient organizations. Its mission is to provide a unified, multi-sectional voice for sustaining and enhancing technological innovation and to improve health outcomes and the quality of life for all Americans. To meet this goal MTLF works to educate the public, providers, and policy makers about the role of medical technology and the need to sustain technological innovation.
United Healthgroup
Operating through five segments, the company offers a variety of health care plans and services. Its United Healthcare segment manages HMO, PPO, and POS (point-of-service) plans; its Ovations unit focuses on providing Medicare and Medicaid options to enrollees over 50 (including the members of AARP). Uniprise handles health plans for large companies, and Specialized Care Services offers just that — vision care, dental care, transplant services, and other niche coverage. Ingenix provides health information consulting and publishing as well as drug development and marketing services. United Health operates nationwide, and has annual revenues of approximately 23.5 billion dollars.
United Parcel Service
The United Parcel Services is the world’s #1 package-delivery company. Its operates throughout the US and more than 200 countries and territories. UPS is the leading ground-delivery firm and is gaining on rival FedEx in air delivery; it delivers nearly 14 million packages per day. Through UPS Logistics and UPS Consulting, the company is expanding its role in managing supply chain operations and logistics for corporations, and it has built a freight-forwarding business through acquisitions. UPS has also launched e-Ventures to develop operations supporting e-commerce. UPS had an income of approximately 30 billion dollars
for fiscal year 2000. Managers, employees, retirees, and the founding families own 90% of UPS.
Verizon
Verizon was formed in 2000 when Bell Atlantic bought GTE, and is the #1 local phone company in the U.S. and the #2 telecom services provider, behind AT&T. Verizon has 62 million local-access lines throughout the U.S. Verizon Wireless, the company’s joint venture with Vodafone, is the #1 U.S. wireless provider, with about 28.7 million mobile phone customers nationwide. Outside the U.S., Verizon affiliates serve 36 million wireless customers and operate 13 million access lines; the company also plans to build a multinational data network. Verizon has 6.9 million U.S. long-distance customers, and its revenues for fiscal year 2000 were approximately 68 billion dollars.
Wellmark
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield offers a full range of health insurance and related products and services and employs 1,723 people. As part of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Wellmark is part of a national network of 46 plans that insure nearly 78 million Americans. Wellmark has 1.35 million customers in Iowa and South Dakota.