For Immediate Release
May 21, 2001

Contact:
Beryl Wolfe
(207) 775-5115
E-mail: beryl@wolfenews.com
Web Site: http://www.martinspoint.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The president of Martin's Point Health Care told a House Armed Services subcommittee Thursday that it is crucial to recognize that "additional time and resources" are needed to care for elderly military dependents and retirees.

"Our experience demonstrates what we know intuitively: That the health care requirements of this population are many times higher than for patients under the age of 65," Dr. David Howes, M.D., chief medical officer for Portland, Maine-based Martin's Point Health Care and Program Director for the Uniformed Services Family Health Plan (USFHP) at Martin's Point, told the members of the Military Personnel Subcommittee.

Howes noted that during the past year, enrollees aged 65 and older in the Uniformed Services Family Health Plan (USFHP) needed 1,580 inpatient hospital days per 1,000, which was "six times the need for the enrollees under the age of 65."

Martin's Point, Maine's largest primary care practice, is one of seven designated providers of the USFHP, a managed care plan that provides services to about 100,000 retired military personnel and eligible family members of active-duty and retired military personnel nationwide. Martin's Point serves more than 17,000 USFHP members in Maine and southern New Hampshire, as well as about 33,000 patients under other major commercial health plans.

Howes, representing Martin's Point and the six other USFHP providers, was invited to testify before the subcommittee, which is gathering information about the care of elderly military beneficiaries. TRICARE Prime, a managed care program, has been provided since 1993 to USFHP enrollees aged 65 and older.

"Coordinated care models need to be vigorously promoted as the best alternative for TRICARE for Life beneficiaries," Howes said.

He added that it "would be a mistake to short-change the infrastructure" that supports primary care managers. "Serious thought needs to be given to structuring a program that encourages beneficiaries to elect to receive care through an organized delivery system that has the primary care manager as the focal point," he said.

USFHP has been serving military beneficiaries for 20 years under contracts with the Department of Defense.

"The work that the USFHP has been doing as a managed care program since 1993 has been recognized by Congress as having significant value in their consideration of the future of the Military Health System," Howes said following his testimony. "It embraces the care of all military beneficiaries aged 65 and older."

An independent survey recently found that nearly 90 percent of military dependents and retirees served by Martin's Point are satisfied with their health plan. The 89.5 overall satisfaction percentage for the 2001 survey is nearly 20 percent higher than last year's national average of 70.2 percent among comparable military programs.

With headquarters in Portland at 331 Veranda St., Martin's Point is a not-for-profit health care organization with facilities in Portland, Brunswick and Windham, Maine, and in Portsmouth, N.H. It has a staff of more than 300 health care professionals and serves 50,000 patients under all major health plans and insurance, including HealthSource, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Harvard Community Health Plan, Aetna, Maine Partners, Cigna, Anthem, Champus and Tricare plans.

Established in 1981, Martin's Point serves patients in the areas of family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery, radiology, cardiology, mammography and other fields. Martin's Point is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the nation's predominant standards setting and accrediting body in health care. For additional information, visit online at http://www.martinspoint.org.

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