Media Contact: Susan Frankle
Director of Corporate Communications
Tel: 781.425.5719
February 27, 2006
Burlington, Mass. and Washington, DC - Silverlink Communications and Gorman Health Group (GHG) today announced a partnership which pairs Silverlink’s experience providing communications services to the healthcare industry with GHG’s expertise delivering counsel, products, and consulting services to Medicare and Medicaid’s private sector partners. Serving six of the top 10 health plans, Silverlink is healthcare’s leading provider of automated consumer outreach. Lehman Brothers recently cited GHG as the leading consulting firm in Medicare Managed Care.
The companies have been working together for nearly a year to deliver automated call solutions to health plans offering Medicare Part D products. “Teaming up with Gorman Health Group adds incredible depth to what we could offer our customers," said Stan Nowak, CEO and president of Silverlink. “Frankly no one in the marketplace is better equipped to help our clients develop Part D communications strategies."
Nowak explained the importance of effective outreach programs. “We’re all reading about how confusing it is for seniors to select and enroll in a Part D program. It was clear to us early on that Part D would create significant communications challenges for our customers. It’s a complex program being offered to a population with unique communications needs. Effective, proactive communication is key to attracting and serving the 42 million eligible beneficiaries. If new members routinely have to call in to ask where their membership card is, there’s a clear gap in customer service. Proactively reaching out with that information is a better approach. We’ve identified more than 20 similar opportunities for automated proactive communication around Part D. Gorman Health Group has been instrumental in helping us develop content and navigate regulations for those opportunities, and our clients are responding positively. Every one of our clients who is offering a Part D product has used our services to help communicate with beneficiaries."
John Gorman, CEO and president of Gorman Health Group, also identified beneficiary communication as a key success factor for MA-PDs (Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plans) and PDPs (Prescription Drug Plans). “Proactive communication with members has never been more important," said Gorman. “Reaching out to eligible Part D beneficiaries throughout the selection and enrollment process will help plans earn and retain more members while avoiding a call center overwhelmed by inbound inquiries and complaints. Furthermore, PDPs have to develop a strategy to retain auto-enrolled beneficiaries. These people are exempt from the enrollment lock-in so PDPs need to develop communications that inspire loyalty, show superior service, and most importantly, improve quality. The programs we’re designing with Silverlink can address a number of these strategic concerns with one integrated plan."
Under the terms of the agreement, Silverlink customers will have access to GHG services when they need strategic or tactical advice about communicating with Medicare and Medicaid populations. GHG will work directly with Silverlink to develop Medicare/Medicaid automated calls – guiding call script development and helping to navigate regulatory requirements.
“We’re very excited about this partnership," said Silverlink’s Nowak.“ Gorman Health Group will be an extremely valuable resource to our customers, and formalizing this relationship is consistent with our commitment to holistically meet the complex communications needs of healthcare."
There’s a Science to Communications
People are different. Communicating with them should be too. Silverlink, the leader in healthcare communications, systematically understands individuals and their preferences – driving behaviors in scale – and making the fine art of healthcare communications a science. Our innovative approach, Adaptive HealthComm ScienceTM, combines advanced technology with decision science methodologies to deliver personalized, one-to-one communications across populations. Touch by touch, our iterative approach continuously learns, adapts and improves to achieve results never before thought possible – impacting healthcare consumers one to one million at a time. Nine of the top 10 health plans have already discovered the powerful difference Silverlink can make. Silverlink is located in Burlington, Massachusetts. For more information, visit http://www.silverlink.com, email info@silverlink.com, or phone 1.781.425.5700.
Media Contact: Susan Frankle
Director of Corporate Communications
Tel: 781.425.5719