HEALTH CARE : FHP Signs Pact to Help Philadelphia HMO Implement Medicare Program
FHP Inc. has found a new source of revenue: selling its managerial expertise to other HMOs.
The Fountain Valley health maintenance organization has signed a five-year contract with Greater Atlantic Health Services in Philadelphia to help develop, manage and market a new health care program for Medicare patients, said FHP chief executive Bill Price.
The pact marks the first time that FHP has sold its managerial services to an HMO that doesn’t want to suffer the headache of in-house reorganization and training for new programs.
Price said that FHP’s longtime Washington contacts acquired from nine years in the Medicare business were a major reason Greater Atlantic decided to opt for the FHP contract rather than build its own program from scratch.
“With FHP, they don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” Price said.
Under the pact, three FHP managers will move to Philadelphia to help Greater Atlantic implement its program. If all goes well, Price said, FHP will sign other management agreements in the near future. FHP’s pay for the services will depend on the success of the venture.
