Human Resources: Texas State Office of Risk Management Selects Forté for Bill Review and UR Services

Austin, TX (October 20, 2009) — Forté, one of the industry’s leading providers of comprehensive medical management services for workers’ compensation and liability claims, announced today that the Texas State Office of Risk Management (SORM), one of the largest self-administered workers’ comp programs in the nation, has selected the company to provide medical bill review services.

Forté will now review over 100,000 SORM workers’ comp bills annually and provide pre-authorization, peer review and case management services. SORM provides workers’ comp coverage for about 175,000 employees working throughout 170+ state agencies in Texas, such as the Department of Public Safety, Office of the Governor, Department of Criminal Justice, Health and Human Services Department, Department of Agriculture, Public Utility Commission, and the Parks and Wildlife Department.

Rockport Healthcare Group, a national preferred provider organization focused exclusively on workers’ comp and sister company to Forté, will also provide network services.

“We are pleased to have been selected by SORM,” notes Doug Markham, Chief Operating Officer of Forté. “Texas has one of the largest and most sophisticated workers’ comp programs in the nation. We were able to continue to evolve our partnership by providing the services, technology and flexibility SORM needed to achieve a high-quality, cost-effective workers’ comp program.”

SORM also opted to expand its relationship with Forté because of their ability to improve outcomes and lower costs.

“We selected Forté because they demonstrated, in a competitive procurement, a superior ability to meet and exceed SORM’s requirements,” notes Jonathan D. Bow, Executive Director of the State Office of Risk Management. “In our prior experience with Forté, they have proved themselves to be a willing and able partner with SORM in developing strategies to help the State address challenges faced in the workers’ compensation environment. They offer the expertise and flexibility necessary to meet our unique needs.”

The future technology interface also played a key role in the SORM and Forté relationship. In the coming months, SORM’s adjusters will be able to go to the Forté secure portal to approve or make requests for changes to a bill. This new process will allow the department to receive all bills electronically and to transition to a completely paperless billing system, further increasing efficiency and lowering costs.

“Our relationship with SORM highlights that when companies work together, they can achieve better results for employees while also controlling costs,” notes Markham. “For example, in the past we worked with SORM to develop a program utilizing our physicians to assist with the negotiation of return-to-work and treatment plans. We have also provided a physician bill review process allowing SORM to quickly obtain peer review decisions necessary to complete the audit of complex bills. We’re gratified to see the positive perception of the value we can deliver to SORM and look forward to an ongoing, successful workers’ comp program.”

About Forté:
Forté partners with insurance carriers, large self-insured employers and third party administrators to provide comprehensive medical management services for workers’ compensation and liability claims. The company’s national managed care programs include: medical bill auditing and review, utilization review (pre-certification and peer review), case management and integrated managed care plans. For additional information, please visit www.fortereview.com <http://www.fortereview.com/> .

About Rockport Healthcare Group:

Rockport Healthcare Group manages a national preferred provider organization network of over 425,000 providers that serves the workers’ compensation medical management sector. The company’s single focus of specializing in workers’ compensation has resulted in a network of medical providers who understand early intervention, return-to-work guidelines and other industry-specific treatment protocols. For more information, visit www.rockporthealthcare.com <http://www.rockporthealthcare.com/> .

About Texas State Office of Risk Management (SORM):
The State Office of Risk Management (SORM) provides workers’ compensation and risk management services to 175,000 state workers. SORM’s role is to provide active leadership to enable State of Texas agencies to protect their employees, the general public, and the state’s physical and financial assets by reducing and controlling risk in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. For more information, visit www.sorm.state.tx.us <http://www.sorm.state.tx.us/> .