American Healthways to Provide Disease Management Services to Blue Cross Blue Shield Northern Plains Alliance

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 20, 2005--

Company Contracts with Newly Formed Regional Medicare Advantage Plans' Medical Management Vendor for Congestive Heart Failure Program



American Healthways Inc., (NASDAQ: AMHC) today announced a three-year disease management agreement with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, who has been contracted to provide medical management services for the Medicare Advantage plans offered across the region by the Alliance.



The Alliance includes the independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensees in the states of Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. These seven states comprise Medicare Advantage Region 19. Under the contract, American Healthways will offer a congestive heart failure program tailored specifically to serve the needs of Medicare beneficiaries.



"Medicare Advantage, as a result of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, represents a significant opportunity for disease management, and we look forward to applying our experience with Medicare populations in this new market to help improve the health of seniors, improve quality and reduce costs," said American Healthways President and CEO Ben R. Leedle, Jr.



American Healthways was chosen by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to launch a three-year voluntary pilot program in Maryland and D.C. to serve nearly 20,000 beneficiaries in the area with complex diabetes and/or congestive heart failure. The Company launched the Maryland and D.C. Medicare Health Support pilot last August and is participating as a subcontractor on another pilot in Georgia. In total, there are eight Medicare Health Support pilots being conducted by CMS in various regions of the country for about 160,000 beneficiaries with these diagnoses.