 Mercy Health Partners joins the Initial Group PPO Network more 
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 January 2006 - KNOXVILLE , Tenn-Baptist Health System of East Tennessee has sold its insurance arm, The Initial Group, to a Nashville health-care company, ending a strategy to administer medicine and insurance to area residents. Regional Healthcare Holdings LLC purchased Baptist's managed care company and will move the corporate office to Nashville, Baptist announced Thursday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The sale will allow the health system to focus on its "core business, delivering the highest possible care possible," Steve Clapp, senior vice president of business development for Baptist, said in a statement. "The Initial Group has provided excellent managed care services to the community for several years. We are excited about its future and the opportunity it has to continue to grow under new ownership," Clapp said. The Initial Group is a health-care network consisting of 68 hospitals and facilities and more than 4,500 physicians. It has been in operation for more than 13 years, providing health-care services to employers and employees throughout East Tennessee. The network covers 114,960 employees in Tennessee and 29,417 in Knoxville and is the eighth-largest preferred provider organization serving the region, based on statewide enrollment. Mike Miller with Regional Healthcare Holdings has beennamed the new president and chief operating officer of The Initial Group. Hospitals within Baptist Health System, including East Tennessee Baptist Hospital, Baptist Hospital West, Baptist Hospital for Women and its affiliates will remain in the network and will continue to provide health-care services to The Initial Group. "The company is interested in working with existing hospital-owned PPOs to enhance their product, their network and their technology," said Carl Papp, chairman of RegionalHealthcare Holdings, which was formed in 2005 to identify and acquire smaller, regional PPOs. Papp said his company saw Baptist as an opportunity because it is well-branded and wellknown. "We know there is competition. That's fine," Papp said. While the corporate office will move toNashville, there will be a continued presence in Knoxville and East Tennessee. Seven employees were laid off as a result of the sale but one has taken a position within Baptist. Baptist became the sole owner of The Initial Group in September 2000. It had owned 40 percent of the PPO for four years until it purchased the remaining share from St. Mary's Health System, which had joined Cariten Healthcare Network, owned by Covenant Health. Knoxville-based Cariten is a major competitor of The Initial Group. The Initial Group was founded in 1991 as Signature Health Alliance of East Tennessee, which was owned by St. Mary's and the University of Tennessee Medical Center. The Initial Group, Inc. exists to provide cost-effective, high-quality healthcare services, products and networks that exceed customer expectation. For more information regarding products and services offered by The Initial Group, Inc. please visit our web site at www.initialgroup.com or have your broker call us at (865)-546-1893 ext. 229. - END -
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East Tennessee's fastest growing managed healthcare network |
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| For over 13 years, The Initial Group has been providing healthcare products and services to employees throughout East Tennessee |
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