SIE Sierra Health Svcs

Health Plans Unlock the Power and Value of the Formulary to Transform the Economics of Pharmacy Benefits LAS VEGAS, GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. and SEATTLE, Dec. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Sierra Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:SIE) and Rocky Mountain Health Plans today announced the selection and initial implementation of Zynchros.com, the industry's only on-demand formulary management solution delivered by Zynchros, Inc. that synchronizes the entire pharmacy benefits chain -- P&T to the point of care. "Formularies are no longer simply a list of approved drugs; they are fast becoming a key strategic asset for improving patient care, strengthening competitive position and driving down market costs," said Bob Stream, Vice President of Sales for Zynchros. "We are very pleased that these two innovative health plans have selected Zynchros.com as a technological tool to help deliver more efficiency and cost-effectiveness to their constituents. By replacing spreadsheet-based formularies with an on-demand service designed to synchronize and interconnect the entire pharmacy benefit chain, they are helping ensure best practice workflow management and streamlined prescription compliance and accuracy." "At Rocky Mountain Health Plans, we juggle Commercial, Medicaid, and Medicare Part D formularies -- each one is different from the other," explains Steve R Nolan, Pharmacy Director, Rocky Mountain Health Plans. "We see Zynchros as an opportunity to streamline our processes, keep our formularies updated, correct and synchronize them with our pharmacy benefit management companies. Zynchros gives us access to the entire Medi-Span database so our formularies are more complete than ever before. Instead of spending hours using a variety of software programs to manage our formularies, we can log onto Zynchros.com, make changes, and create output for paper, web, and PBM drug lists." Sierra Health Services will use Zynchros to manage its Medicare Part D formulary submission and publishing requirements. The software will interface with Sierra's Medi-Span based billing system. It is expected to provide the advantage of central management of all formularies and all associated printed documents. The Company expects the program to reduce its formulary operating costs. "Moving to Zynchros.com will significantly improve system efficiency and accuracy," explains Dr. Steven Evans, Pharmacy Director, Sierra Health Services, Inc. About Sierra Health Services Sierra Health Services, Inc., based in Las Vegas, is a diversified healthcare services company that operates health maintenance organizations, indemnity insurers, preferred provider organizations, prescription drug plans and multi-specialty medical groups. Sierra's subsidiaries serve over 800,000 people through health benefit plans for employers, government programs and individuals. For more information, visit the Company's website at http://www.sierrahealth.com/. About Rocky Mountain Health Plans Rocky Mountain Health Plans (RMHP) provides medical benefit plans and services to more than 188,000 enrollees. The organization was founded in 1974 and offers a wide range of medical benefit options, including PPO, HMO, shared-funding, and partially self-funded medical plans. It also provides health plans for Medicare and Medicaid-eligible persons and children who receive care under Colorado's Child Health Plan Plus program. RMHP is the proud recipient of the 2006 America's Health Insurance Plans Foundation Innovation and Excellence Award in Chronic Care for our Improving Diabetes Outcomes in Mesa County initiative. For more information, contact Rocky Mountain Health Plans at 800-843-0719 or visit http://www.rmhp.org/. About Zynchros(TM), Inc. Founded in 2000, privately-held Zynchros, Inc. (formerly Script IQ, Inc.) delivers technology-based solutions that transform the economics of drug-based wellness, reducing costs, improving access to appropriate treatments and enhancing the profitability, compliance and agility of health insurers and PBMs. The unique zynchros.com on-demand platform not only provides the workflow process necessary to initiate effective formulary strategy management, it also improves responsiveness, control and efficiency by synchronizing all of the participants in pharmacy benefits, from P&T to the point of care. To learn more about how Zynchros is interconnecting the world of pharmacy benefits visit http://www.zynchros.com/ or call 1- 866-996-2476. DATASOURCE: Zynchros, Inc. CONTACT: Mary Jochum of Zynchros, Inc., +1-206-792-4106, or ; or Kayla Arneson of Rocky Mountain Health Plans, +1-970-244-7967, or ; or Gillian Rodis of Sierra Health Services, +1-702-242-7784, or Web site: http://www.zynchros.com/

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